The Lagoon Nebula location in Sagittarius is approximately 4000-6000 light years from Earth and spans a staggering hundred light-years. The region boasts numerous areas of star formation and contains several Bok globules--which are dark collapsing clouds of protostellar material. The wispy tendrils are cause by UV radiation from neighboring hot stars pushing the gas and dust into the distinct shapes we see today.
Meade 12in LX200 @ f7, SBIG ST8XME, AO-8, Astrodon RGB filters, 6 hours integration time