Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2020 February 13 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Spitzer's Trifid Image Credit: J. Rho ([3]SSC/Caltech), [4]JPL-Caltech, [5]NASA Explanation: [6]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 [7]nebula rich constellation [8]Sagittarius. As its name suggests, [9]visible light pictures show the nebula divided into three parts by dark, obscuring dust lanes. But [10]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 [11]Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers have used the [12]infrared image data to count newborn and [13]embryonic stars which otherwise can lie hidden in the natal dust and gas clouds of this intriguing [14]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, [15]on January 30. Tomorrow's picture: pale blue __________________________________________________________________ [16]< | [17]Archive | [18]Submissions | [19]Index | [20]Search | [21]Calendar | [22]RSS | [23]Education | [24]About APOD | [25]Discuss | [26]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell ([30]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply. [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC & [36]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2002/trifid_spitzerR.jpg 3. http://ssc.spitzer.caltech.edu/ 4. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 5. http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191230.html 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130830.html 8. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/sgr/index.html 9. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/video-audio/733-ssc2005-02v1-Trifid-s-Shifting-Sides 10. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1364-ssc2005-02a-New-Views-of-a-Familiar-Beauty 11. http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/spitzer/index.shtml 12. http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ 13. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07226 14. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018MNRAS.475.3029T/abstract 15. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-spitzer-space-telescope-ends-mission-of-astronomical-discovery 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200212.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200213 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200214.html 27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 34. https://www.nasa.gov/ 35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 36. http://www.mtu.edu/