August 20, 1996
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
A Close-Up of the Lagoon Nebula
Birthday · August 20, 1996
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published August 20, 1996. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Ribbons of red-glowing gas and dark dust surround massive young stars in this close-up of the Lagoon Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Lagoon Nebula is relatively close and bright - it appears larger than the Full Moon and is visible even without a telescope. Light takes about 5000 years to reach here from there. The Lagoon Nebula houses the open star cluster M8. This photograph is combination of exposures taken in the red, green and ultraviolet. The unusual bright central part of the Lagoon Nebula (lower left in this image) is known as the Hourglass Nebula.