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East of the Lagoon

Mark Hanson/Warren Keller

Located 5,000 light-years away, the billowing star-forming region NGC 6559 (lower right) lies less than a degree east of the more frequently photographed Lagoon Nebula (M8). It is accompanied by the emission nebula IC 4685 (center), which itself is threaded by the dark nebulae Barnard 302/3, appearing to some like a dragon of Chinese mythology. The imagers used a 24-inch scope to capture one hour of exposure in LRGB filters, 15 minutes each.