Gigagalaxy Zoom

The Hourglass Nebula is the brightest region within the Lagoon Nebula. Surrounded by veils of dust and hydrogen gas, this remarkable feature is a site of vigorous star formation. A large number of very hot, newly born stars radiate extremely strong ultraviolet light, causing the whole region to glow. The most powerful of all the stars within this stellar nest is Herschel 36, seen in the lower right. The main illuminator of the central region, however, is the second brightest member associated with the Lagoon Nebula, a star called 9 Sagittarii. Its violent stellar wind combined with the pressure of ultraviolet light shapes the dusty debris in the Lagoon Nebula into bizarre, half-light-year-long, tornado-like spires.

In 2006, the first direct evidence of ongoing star formation in the Lagoon Nebula came thanks to the discovery of four Herbig-Haro objects, which are clouds of gas ejected by young stars.

The English mathematician and astronomer Sir John Herschel, the son of the famed astronomer Sir William Herschel, gave the Hourglass Nebula its name. This nebula should not be confused with a famous planetary nebula of the same name located in the constellation of Musca (the Fly).