Lagoon Nebula (NGC 6523 or M8)


NGC 6523, Lagoon Nebula
 
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a pair of half a light-year long interstellar 'twisters' - eerie twisted funnel structures - in the heart of the Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8) which lies 5000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.



Release date: 3 August 2004