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Credit & Copyright: Subaru Telescope
(NAOJ),
Hubble Space Telescope,
Martin Pugh;
Processing: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the
Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius).
In the center, the three prominent
dust lanes that give the
Trifid its name all come together.
Mountains of opaque dust
appear on the right, 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, also known as
M20,
is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest
emission nebulae known.
The nebula
lies about 9,000
light years away and the part
pictured here spans about 10 light years.
The above 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 Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day