May 5, 2011 - Space Ref
An all-time favorite of skywatchers on both hemispheres, the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8 or M8) is among the most striking examples of a stellar nursery in our neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy. Visible in small telescopes and binoculars its fuzzy glow reveals the type of chaotic environment where new stars are born.
Argentinean astronomers Julia Arias (Universidad de La Serena) and Rodolfo Barba (Universidad de La Serena and ICATE-CONICET) have used the Gemini South telescope in Chile to obtain a dramatic new image of the nursery that could be described as psychedelic. ...