M8 Lagoon Nebula

Commonly known as the Lagoon Nebula, M8 was discovered in 1654 by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna. This star-forming cloud of interstellar gas is located in the constellation Sagittarius, it is about 5200 light years away from Earth and covers an area of space about 140 by 60 light years.The massive stars embedded within the nebula give off enormous amounts of ultraviolet radiation, ionizing the gas and causing it to shine.