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APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:05 am
by APOD Robot
Central Lagoon in Infrared
Explanation: Stars fill this infrared view, spanning 4 light-years across the center of the Lagoon Nebula.
Visible light images show the glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds that dominate the scene.
But this infrared image, constructed from
Hubble Space Telescope data, peers closer to the heart of the active star-forming region revealing newborn stars scattered within, against a crowded field of background stars
toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
This tumultuous stellar nursery's central regions are sculpted and energized by the massive, young Herschel 36, seen as the bright star near center in the field of view.
Herschel 36 is actually a multiple system of massive stars. At over 30 times the mass of the Sun and less than 1 million years old, the most massive star in the system should live to a stellar old age of 5 million years. Compare that to the almost 5
billion year old Sun which will evolve into a red giant in only another 5 billion years or so.
The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 4,000 light-years away within the boundaries of the constellation Sagittarius.
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 5:58 am
by Ann
The Lagoon Nebula in infrared light.
Photo: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Data Archive: MAST, Processing: Alexandra Nachman.
I'm not the world's greatest fan of infrared images of deep-space object, although I certainly realize that sometimes infrared (or at least non-visual) imagery is our only option if we want to gather some useful information. For example, how would we ever know anything about the center of the Milky Way if we insisted on trying to observe it in visible light only?
But does today's APOD really teach us a lot about the Lagoon Nebula that we didn't know before?
Okay... maybe that the inner part of the central Lagoon "Hourglass nebula" really is chock full of infrared light?
Ann
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:11 am
by XgeoX
Can’t wait to see what the Webb will do!
Eric
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 1:24 pm
by orin stepanek
I think I like this view best
Makes you want to go swimming
This one reminds me of a rose!
It's amazing what something looks like in infrared!
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:19 pm
by Cousin Ricky
I try to guess what I’m looking at before I read the title and description. For this one, I thought this looks like the Lagoon Nebula, but there are too many stars and not enough nebula. Then when I saw “infrared,” it became clear.
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2021 2:39 am
by orin stepanek
Cousin Ricky wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:19 pm
I try to guess what I’m looking at before I read the title and description. For this one, I thought this looks like the Lagoon Nebula, but there are too many stars and not enough nebula. Then when I saw “infrared,” it became clear.
It's amazing what different light can do for you!
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)
Re: APOD: Central Lagoon in Infrared (2021 Mar 19)
Posted: Sat May 29, 2021 12:25 am
by peculiar.galexy.astro
Just came across this forum! This was an image that I processed using data from the Hubble Space Telescope. It was the coolest thing that my image got chosen and it made me so happy!! I love processing near-infrared images from Hubble. They are so stunning and getting to see all of the hidden stars is beautiful!
![Mr. Green :mrgreen:](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif)