East of the Lagoon Nebula

To the east of the Lagoon Nebula is a star field rich in diversity.
On the lower left are clouds rich in dark dust that hide background stars
and young star systems still forming. Dark clouds include LDN 227 on the left
and IC 1275 on the right, with a bright star near its tip. On the upper right
are clouds rich in hot glowing gas, including part of the emission nebula NGC 6559.
On the right, between the two regions, is a nebula reflecting light from a group
of massive blue stars. The NGC 6559 complex pictured above spans about 3 light years
and likely has a common history with the Lagoon Nebula. The complex lies about 5000
light-years away toward the constellation of Sagittarius.