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. 2024 August 10 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. The Light, Dark, and Dusty Trifid Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Robert Edelmaier and Gabriele Gegenbauer Explanation: [5]Messier 20, popularly known as the Trifid Nebula, lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the [6]nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid does illustrate three different types of astronomical nebulae; red [7]emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue [8]reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and [9]dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. The reddish emission region, roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes, is what lends the Trifid its [10]popular name. The cosmic cloud complex is over 40 light-years across and would cover the area of a full moon on planet Earth's sky. But the Trifid Nebula is too faint to be seen by the unaided eye. Over 75 hours of image data captured under dark night skies was used to create this [11]stunning telescopic view. Watch: [12]The Perseid Meteor Shower Tomorrow's picture: animation in space __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy, [30]Accessibility Notices A service of: [31]ASD at [32]NASA / [33]GSFC, [34]NASA Science Activation & [35]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2408/M20OriginalLRGBHaO3S2_1500x1100.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.astropicture.at/ 5. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/messier-20/ 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130712.html 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080424.html 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090521.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090522.html 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifid_Nebula 11. https://www.astropicture.at/skandinavien 12. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-perseid-meteor-shower/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240809.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240810 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240811.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 31. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/ 33. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 34. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 35. http://www.mtu.edu/