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Credit & Copyright: Subaru Telescope
(NAOJ),
Hubble Space Telescope,
Martin Pugh;
Processing: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
What's happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula?
Three prominent
dust lanes that give the
Trifid its name all come together.
Mountains of opaque dust
appear near the bottom, while other dark filaments of
dust are visible threaded throughout the nebula.
A single massive star
visible near the center causes much of the
Trifid's glow.
The Trifid, cataloged as
M20,
is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest
emission nebulas known.
The star
forming nebula lies about 9,000
light years away toward the
constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius).
The region
pictured here spans about 10 light years.
The featured image is a composite with
luminance taken from an image by the 8.2-m ground-based
Subaru Telescope,
detail provided by the 2.4-m orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope,
color data provided by
Martin Pugh
and image assembly and processing provided by
Robert Gendler.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Trifid nebula - M 20
Publications with words: Trifid nebula - M 20
See also: