                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2023 September 28

                               The Deep Lagoon
           Image Credit & Copyright: Josep Drudis, Christian Sasse

   Explanation: Ridges of glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds
   inhabit the turbulent, cosmic depths of the Lagoon Nebula. Also known
   as M8, The bright star forming region is about 5,000 light-years
   distant. It makes for a popular stop on telescopic tours of the
   constellation Sagittarius toward the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
   Dominated by the telltale red emission of ionized hydrogen atoms
   recombining with stripped electrons, this deep telescopic view of the
   Lagoon's central reaches is about 40 light-years across. The bright
   hourglass shape near the center of the frame is gas ionized and
   sculpted by energetic radiation and extreme stellar winds from a
   massive young star.

                  Tomorrow's picture: just back from Bennu
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