Lagoon Nebula, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope Nov 9, 2025

The universe hums with creation. Featured here, in the Lagoon Nebula, a cluster called NGC 6530 is kindling newborn stars, a glowing reminder that beginnings are woven into the fabric of the cosmos. About 4,350 light-years away and a few million years old, it is a stellar formation still in its earliest chapter. Despite its immense distance, it glimmers faintly in the night sky, one of only two star-forming nebulae visible to the naked eye from mid-northern latitudes, alongside the famous Orion Nebula. First recorded by Giovanni Hodierna in 1654, it is located in the constellation Sagittarius. In long-exposure photographs, the Lagoon Nebula may appear pink, but when viewed through a telescope it looks grey, as the human eye struggles to detect colour in low-light conditions. So, if you ever try to spot it, don"t be surprised by its muted appearance.

© ESA/NASA

palette

Today in History

Nov 9, 2023Birch trees, Drammen, Norway
Nov 9, 2024Aït Benhaddou, Morocco

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 18, 2023Milky Way over Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, Portugal
Jan 23, 2026Þorrablót, Icelandic midwinter festival
Dec 29, 2025Étretat, Normandy, France
Sep 21, 2023Inside the Nobel Peace Centre, Oslo, Norway
Apr 16, 2025Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States
Feb 4, 2024Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
Feb 2, 2025Alpine marmot
Jun 21, 2025Masai giraffes in the Serengeti
Apr 27, 2024Leucistic Annas hummingbird
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles
Feb 14, 2026Bleeding hearts
Jul 16, 2025Temple of Philae, Aswan, Egypt
Nov 7, 2025Polar bear in Canada
Nov 27, 2023Río Negro, Amazon basin, Brazil
Jun 22, 2024Amazon rainforest, Brazil
May 30, 2025Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, United States
Jan 3, 2026Staubbach Falls at Lauterbrunnen, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
Jan 15, 2025Pointe du Diable, Saint-Pierre, Réunion Island
Sep 12, 2023North Sea at sunset, Norddorf, Germany
Aug 3, 2024Three Natural Bridges, Wulong National Park, China
Oct 26, 2023Schönbrunn Palace Park, Vienna, Austria
Mar 12, 2025Château de Sully-sur-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France
Sep 11, 2024Eltz Castle, Germany
Jun 26, 2024Banggai cardinalfish
Apr 6, 2025The Shard, London, England
Jan 30, 2025Rolands Breach, Spain
Dec 5, 2024Tufa formation on Mono Lake, California, United States
Dec 8, 2023La Rocque Harbour, Island of Jersey
Feb 20, 2026Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Jul 5, 2025Cize-Bolozon viaduct, France