APOD: In the Center of the Lagoon Nebula (2014 Aug 20)

[APOD Robot]

In the Center of the Lagoon Nebula

Explanation: The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a whirlwind of spectacular star formation. Visible near the image center, at least two long funnel-shaped clouds, each roughly half a light-year long, have been formed by extreme stellar winds and intense energetic starlight. The tremendously bright nearby star, Hershel 36, lights the area. Walls of dust hide and redden other hot young stars. As energy from these stars pours into the cool dust and gas, large temperature differences in adjoining regions can be created generating shearing winds which may cause the funnels. This picture, spanning about 5 light years, combines images taken by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 5,000 light years distant toward the constellation of Sagittarius.

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[bystander]

Good job, geckzilla!

[geckzilla]

Thanks, bystander. One of my favorites, too, if I may be permitted to favorite my own work...

[workgazer]

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140415.html the formation on the left above the bright star reminds me of this Apod, less the car park. could they be forming in the same way? link is April 15th 2014 if does not work.

[starsurfer]

Thanks, bystander. One of my favorites, too, if I may be permitted to favorite my own work...

I think its impossible to have a favourite from your outstanding gallery!

Also "Hershel" should be Herschel in the description.

[Beyond]

Thanks, bystander. One of my favorites, too, if I may be permitted to favorite my own work...

I think its impossible to have a favourite from your outstanding gallery!

Also "Hershel" should be Herschel in the description.

Whomever wrote the description was probably munching on a Hershey's bar at the time and didn't 'c' their missteak.

[Ann]

Just as I finally felt ready to comment, the picture has apparently disappeared.

Anyway. The picture is impressive. I felt I had to check the color of the two bright stars before I wrote anything about this APOD. The star next to the Hourglass nebula is certainly very reddened, and the other one is reddened too, although far less so.

But the picture gives me a better understanding than any other picture I have seen of the Hourglass nebula and the newborn star that is causing it. It is clear that the star is behind a rather thick dust cloud and is peeking through it, but it isn't causing a reflection nebula. The dust itself is not obviously illuminated, and the brightest part of the nebula is the hourglass-shaped "cavity" where the dust has been cleared away. On the other hand, some tremendously thick and dark tendrils dust are being swept up by tornado-like winds in another part of the nebula.

Thanks! I understand the workings of this nebula a lot better now.

Ann

[Boomer12k]

Awesome detail as always....looks like it is across the STREET!!!

:---[===] *

[trukdriver]

With due respect to the people who made this image possible,I would like to point out that the Lagoon nebula is rather different from other nebula that I have seen. Ok, it has a keyhole, but that is where the difference begins. Seems the Lagoon nebula was once a cloud of inner galactic dust and gas that accreted to form stars and star fields. The marshal disequilibrium caused by light pressure from newly formed stars within the dusty nebula is resulting in new compression waves that further induce star development.
Stellar nebula, on the other hand, such as the Crab nebula, or the Ring nebula, appear to form out of singular stellar bodies that are reorganizing their internal content.
At this point, I am wondering whether the Hubble Space telescope is equipped with a program to distinguish one form of nebula from the other.

[geckzilla]

The telescope itself makes no distinction between anything at all. It's all up to the people analyzing the data. "Nebula" is nothing other than a synonym for "cloud" and it is used as a general adjective for all sorts of astronomical objects. The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant. The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula ("planetary" nebula being an annoyingly confusing name) while this nebula is neither a supernova remnant nor a planetary nebula. Dogs and cats are both animals. Calling them animals does not mean that scientists do not know there is a difference between a dog and a cat.

[Chris Peterson]

With due respect to the people who made this image possible,I would like to point out that the Lagoon nebula is rather different from other nebula that I have seen. Ok, it has a keyhole, but that is where the difference begins. Seems the Lagoon nebula was once a cloud of inner galactic dust and gas that accreted to form stars and star fields. The marshal disequilibrium caused by light pressure from newly formed stars within the dusty nebula is resulting in new compression waves that further induce star development.
Stellar nebula, on the other hand, such as the Crab nebula, or the Ring nebula, appear to form out of singular stellar bodies that are reorganizing their internal content.
At this point, I am wondering whether the Hubble Space telescope is equipped with a program to distinguish one form of nebula from the other.

There are a great many nebulas that consist of material coming together into a star forming region, as opposed to nebulas created by the explosion of stars or the shedding of the outer layers of stars. These nebula types are sufficiently different in appearance and composition that there is seldom if ever any confusion in distinguishing them from one another.

[BMAONE23]

With due respect to the people who made this image possible,I would like to point out that the Lagoon nebula is rather different from other nebula that I have seen. Ok, it has a keyhole, but that is where the difference begins. Seems the Lagoon nebula was once a cloud of inner galactic dust and gas that accreted to form stars and star fields. The marshal disequilibrium caused by light pressure from newly formed stars within the dusty nebula is resulting in new compression waves that further induce star development.
Stellar nebula, on the other hand, such as the Crab nebula, or the Ring nebula, appear to form out of singular stellar bodies that are reorganizing their internal content.
At this point, I am wondering whether the Hubble Space telescope is equipped with a program to distinguish one form of nebula from the other.

There are a great many nebulas that consist of material coming together into a star forming region, as opposed to nebulas created by the explosion of stars or the shedding of the outer layers of stars. These nebula types are sufficiently different in appearance and composition that there is seldom if ever any confusion in distinguishing them from one another.

I like to think of the Hubble as a mildly intelligent camera with a helluva zoom lens. Smart enough to orient itself to point where it has been directed and alternate between respective filters but like a camera hasn't the ability to tell if it is pointing at a Dog or a Cat only that it is pointing where it was told to

[geckzilla]

It's smart enough to know when something bad is about to happen to it and a fail safe is tripped but everything it does is by instructions handed to it by the team every week. It's actually several cameras, and it's got gyroscopes, and it has antennae to utilize a network of communications satellites for scientists to download from and upload to it. It's all pretty awesome but can it be called intelligent? I don't think so.

[starsurfer]

It's smart enough to know when something bad is about to happen to it and a fail safe is tripped but everything it does is by instructions handed to it by the team every week. It's actually several cameras, and it's got gyroscopes, and it has antennae to utilize a network of communications satellites for scientists to download from and upload to it. It's all pretty awesome but can it be called intelligent? I don't think so.

It's a metaphor!

[Beyond]

It's a metaphor!

It doesn't matter what species it is, starsurfer, it's still a dumb bunnie.