Messier 8 and Messier 20

Wide-field mosaic of Messier 8 The Lagoon Nebula and Messier 20 The Trifid Nebula. Messier 8 is an emission nebula HII region in Sagittarius. Several collapsing clouds know as Bok globules are visible which may eventually collapse down to form new stars. Messier 20 is highlighted by three different types of nebula. The red parts are an emission nebula, the blue parts are a reflection nebula, and the dark bands are dark nebula which are clouds of dust and gas blocking light from behind.