Explanation:
The center of the Lagoon Nebula is a
whirlwind
of spectacular star formation.
Visible on the upper 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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