Starship Asterisk*

In the Center of the Lagoon Nebula

Explanation: The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a whirlwind of spectacular star formation. Visible on the lower left, 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. Vast 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, was taken in 1995 by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula, also known as M8, lies about 5000 light years distant toward the constellation of Sagittarius.

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I got out the scope, and it was SMOKIN'!!!!

"Smoke gets in your eyes...." - The Platters.

Really great pic from Hubble, as always.

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Almost looks like it could be an Earth Science Picture of the Day!

Lagoon Nebula?

Ann

?Visible on the lower left, 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."

Dust tends to take on electrostatic charge and can be nucleating, as in Earth's storm clouds.

douglas wrote:?Visible on the lower left, 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."

Dust tends to take on electrostatic charge and can be nucleating, as in Earth's storm clouds.

Do you suppose Earth could have storm clouds without wind?

geckzilla wrote:

douglas wrote:?Visible on the lower left, 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."

Dust tends to take on electrostatic charge and can be nucleating, as in Earth's storm clouds.

Do you suppose Earth could have storm clouds without wind?

Good point, the mixing does help with charge build.

The infrared "string of pearls" comes to mind in starbirth nebulae.

looks similar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctH2tEdQEF0

Looks like heaven!

lower left corner of image appears to be pasted separately. one vertical & one horizontal line can be seen making lower left square. interestingly image just near lines appears to be mirrored across the line.
is this any issue with image processing & stitching

The Southern Cross looks also like heaven.......wait a minute, it is !

nileshp78 wrote:lower left corner of image appears to be pasted separately. one vertical & one horizontal line can be seen making lower left square. interestingly image just near lines appears to be mirrored across the line.
is this any issue with image processing & stitching

The image was made with the WFPC2 camera, which consists of a mosaic of 4 CCDs, one of which is exposed through different optics. So all images made with this camera which utilize all the detectors have stitch lines if you look closely enough (and also have that stair-step shape when viewed uncropped).