by John Chumack, Dayton, Ohio
Here is my shot taken last night(aka early this morning)05-21-09,
still No sleep yet, but here is the processed 50 minute exposure from my observatories in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
It's not my best Lagoon Shot(Film or CCD), but its pretty good for a DSLR image,
I processed M8 to prevent the core from being burned out too badly, as
this object is like the Orion Nebula having a very large dynamic range
to deal with.
M8 The Lagoon is also known as the Hour Glass Nebula, because at the
center there is a tiny part of the nebula that resembles and the shape
of an hour glass.
Lots of nice dark nebula or Bok globules, are visible. The open cluster embedded on top of the Nebula is NGC-6530
The Globular Cluster to the far right edge is NGC-6544.
5" diameter newtonian reflector scope, and Modified Canon Rebel Xsi,
10 5 minute subs,ISO 800, Calibrated - Dark framed, & stacked in Nebulosity, Stretched in Maxim DL, final balance in Adobe.