# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt8h4c4AbP9
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15343201-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/293ac153fa.jpg
- **Posted:** 2019-02-16T14:19:29.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

Also known as NGC 6523 or the Lagoon Nebula, Messier 8 is a giant cloud of gas and dust where stars are currently forming. At a distance of about 4,000 light years from Earth, Messier 8 provides astronomers an excellent opportunity to study the properties of very young stars. Many infant stars give off copious amounts of high-energy light including X-rays, which are seen in the Chandra data (pink). The X-ray data have been combined with an optical image of Messier 8 from the Mt. Lemmon Sky Center in Arizona (blue and white). Wishing everyone a very happy #spacesaturday! 
Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

#nasa #space #universe #stars #nebula #beautiful #exploration #spacescience #chandra #xray #twinkletwinklelittlestar

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 19,661
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 47

## Tags

nasa, xray, spacesaturday, universe, space, beautiful, nebula, exploration, chandra, twinkletwinklelittlestar, stars, spacescience

---
Copyright (c) Gondola