On a clear, dark night one might be able to spot the Lagoon Nebula (M8) with the naked eye. Located 6,500 light years away, in the constellation Sagittarius, the nebula’s span is roughly equal to that of the full Moon. Hot stars in the nebula’s center emit radiation that causes the hydrogen clouds to glow red. The Lagoon Nebula also contains flare stars. These are unusual stars, faint red dwarfs whose brightness can increase by 25 times in only a few minutes. 
    On the left side of the nebula, there are several bright spots that form NGC 6530, a loose star cluster that includes several young stars known as T Tauri stars. NGC 6530 is only a few million years old, an infant in cosmological terms. The dark areas adjacent to