Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Particularly interesting sources include a bright open cluster of stars and several energetic star-forming regions . The general red glow is caused by luminous hydrogen gas , while the dark filaments are caused by absorption by dense lanes of dust . The Lagoon Nebula , also known as M 8 and NGC 6523, lies about 5000 light-years away. The Lagoon Nebula can be located with binoculars in the constellation of Sagittarius spanning a region over three times the diameter of a full Moon .
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