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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations »  Sagittarius »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius

Altitude: 0.7°   Azimuth: 227.3°   Direction: South-West

Messier 8 is a Nebula in the Sagittarius constellation. Messier 8 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 8 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 1.5x1.5 degrees (90x90 arcmins).

Image of Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius star
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DSS2 image of Messier 8 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (45 arcmin) and minor (30 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 8

Messier 8
Nebula
Sagittarius

Messier 8 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 0.7°
Azimuth: 227.3°
Direction: South-West

See also Messier 8 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 5.8, Messier 8 is easily visible with the help of a small binocular.

Available Resources for Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius

Photometric information of Messier 8

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 8 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

5
5.8

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

Apparent size of Messier 8

The following table reports Messier 8 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 8 is a visual representation of it.
45 arcmin
30 arcmin

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 8

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 8 are provided in the following table:

18h 03m 41s
-24° 22’ 49”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 8 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius.

Finder chart Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius.

Rise and set times of Messier 8 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 8 (Lagoon Nebula) - Nebula in Sagittarius rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 114.4°
Max altitude: 14.1°
Azimuth: 245.6°