M24 - Gems of Light

M24, also known as the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, is not a nebula or a star cluster, but a rare "window" through the dense dust of the Milky Way. Located in the constellation Sagittarius, about 10,000-16,000 light-years away, it reveals one of the richest stellar fields visible from Earth: countless stars embedded in glowing H-alpha emission and dark dust lanes. The field also contains several nebulae and star clusters, including the emission nebulae IC 1284 and IC 1283, the nebula NGC 6595, and the open cluster NGC 6603, all embedded within dense dust clouds and active star-forming regions. Also visible are the famous dark nebulae Barnard 92 and Barnard 93, historically nicknamed the "Black Holes" of Sagittarius. A region where stars truly look like gems of light set inside a cosmic ruby.