Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sagittarius (Sgr)  ·  Contains:  B85  ·  M 20  ·  NGC 6514  ·  Sh2-30  ·  Trifid Nebula
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The Trifid Nebula, M20, Rick Veregin
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The Trifid Nebula, M20

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Trifid Nebula, M20, Rick Veregin
Powered byPixInsight

The Trifid Nebula, M20

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Description

The Trifid Nebula, M20, is one of the youngest known star forming regions in our galaxy, 300,000 years young. It combines emission from hot hydrogen, which glows red, with reflection from bright stars, showing up as blue, and dark clouds of dust and gas, which cause the dark lanes that give it the trisected appearance. The nebula is 5400 light years away and about 40 light years across.

This is a difficult target for those of us in northern latitudes as it never gets very high above the horizon, and also most prone to light pollution for those of stuck in big cities. Hence it takes some patience to get enough exposure time.

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The Trifid Nebula, M20, Rick Veregin