Spitzer s Trifid
Explanation:
The Trifid Nebula,
also known as Messier 20, is easy to find with a small telescope.
About 30 light-years across and 5,500 light-years distant
it's a popular stop for cosmic tourists in the
nebula rich constellation
Sagittarius.
As its name suggests,
visible light
pictures show the nebula divided into
three parts by dark, obscuring dust lanes.
But
this
penetrating infrared image
reveals the Trifid's filaments of glowing dust clouds and newborn stars.
The spectacular false-color view is courtesy of the
Spitzer
Space Telescope.
Astronomers have used the
infrared image data
to count newborn and
embryonic
stars which otherwise can lie hidden in the
natal dust and gas clouds of this intriguing
stellar nursery.
Launched in 2003, Spitzer explored the infrared Universe from
an Earth-trailing solar orbit until its science operations were
brought to a close earlier this year,
on
January 30.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
