The Lagoon Nebula (also known as M8) is a large star-forming emission nebula approximately 5000 light years away. It can easily be seen with binoculars and small telescopes and, on a dark night, with the naked eye.

Also appeared at http://www.astronomy.com/photos/picture-of-day  September 9, 2014

Technical Information       

Date:                       June, 2014

Location:                 Green Valley, Arizona

Telescope:              Takahashi FSQ-106EDX

Camera:                  SBIG STT-8300M

Filters:                     Astrodon Gen 2

Mount:                     AstroPhysics 1200

Exposure:                HaLRGB = 840:180:60:60:60 minutes, all unbinned

Software:                 Acquisition: Maxim DL 5, TheSkyX, Pinpoint, CCD Commander

                                Processing: CCDStack, PhotoShop CS6 with various plugins