Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sagittarius (Sgr)  ·  Contains:  M 20  ·  NGC 6514  ·  Trifid nebula
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M20 - The Trifid Nebula, Hap Griffin
M20 - The Trifid Nebula
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M20 - The Trifid Nebula

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M20 - The Trifid Nebula, Hap Griffin
M20 - The Trifid Nebula
Powered byPixInsight

M20 - The Trifid Nebula

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Description

This nebula gets its name from the fact that the main cloud is tri-sected by a dark nebula into three main sections. The beautiful red and blue colors come from the regions of the nebula where hydrogen is glowing (red) and reflecting starlight (blue). The red portion is excited to emission by the ultraviolet light coming from a triple star system embedded within. The distance to the Trifid is approximately 5200 light years, although there is a large disparity between various sources.

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M20 - The Trifid Nebula, Hap Griffin