Lagoon Nebula

The Lagoon Nebula is a giant emission nebula with an H II region located in the constellation Sagittarius. Discovered by Giovanni Hodierna in 1654, it is one of only two star-forming nebulae faintly visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes.

Characteristics

Located approximately 4,000–6,000 light-years from Earth, the nebula spans 110 by 50 light-years. While appearing pink in long-exposure photographs, it typically appears gray when viewed through binoculars or telescopes due to the human eye's limited color sensitivity in low-light conditions. The nebula contains the young open cluster NGC 6530 within its structure.
The Lagoon Nebula features several distinctive structures, including:

Multiple Bok globules cataloged by E. E. Barnard
A funnel-shaped structure formed by ultraviolet radiation from a hot O-type star
The centrally-located Hourglass Nebula, distinct from the Engraved Hourglass Nebula in Musca

Observations in 2006 revealed four Herbig–Haro objects within the Hourglass structure, providing direct evidence of ongoing star formation through accretion processes.