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| Description | NGC | Magnitude | Right Ascension | Declination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diffuse Nebula in Sagittarius | 6523 | 6.0 | 18 hours 2 minutes | 24 degrees 20 minutes |
The Lagoon Nebula is one of the brightest of the nebulae and some even claim it to be a naked-eye object. It is a fuzzy patch you might have noticed when looking at the constellation Sagittarius. The most distinctive feature of the Lagoon Nebula is a dark lane roughly dividing the object. This lane is made up of dust that obscures the nebula's glowing gases. The Lagoon nebula contains a bonus – a small, bright galactic cluster called NGC 6530, which has no separate Messier number and lies just east of the nebula. The Lagoon Nebula might be anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 light years from us.