Messier 8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula, is a large, bright emission nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. The star-forming nebula has an apparent magnitude of 6 and lies at a distance of 4,100 light years from Earth. The cluster is only about 2 million years old. The hot young stars in it are responsible for the nebula’s glow. Messier 8 never rises very high above the horizon for observers north of the equator, but can be seen in the summer months. From my observatory location the maximum altitude is barely crossing the 20° mark.
Messier 8
Telescope: 16″ f3.75 Dream Scope
Camera: FLI ML16803
Mount: ASA DDM85
Exposure: 4.5 hours (18x300s Ha + 16x300s L + 3x6x300s RGB)
Date: June 2020
Location: Southern Alps, France
Bart Delsaert - Astrophotography 