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Post Info TOPIC: Trifid Nebula


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NGC 6514
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Messier 20 (also M20, Trifid Nebula, Collinder 360, Sharpless 30, RCW 147, Gum 76 and NGC 6514) is a magnitude +6.3 H II emission/reflection region located 5,200 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.
The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars; an emission nebula, a reflection nebula and a dark nebula within the emission nebula that cause the trifurcated appearance. The dark nebula was catalogued as B85 by Edward Barnard.
The central star that illuminates the nebula is a triple system; all three stars (HD 196692, ADS 10991 and HN40, apparent magnitude 7.6, 10.7 and 8.7, respectively) are extremely hot, of stellar classification between O5 and O7, the main star (HD 164514) is located in the northern region of the nebula with an apparent magnitude 7.42, belongs to spectral type O5. The nebula was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on the 5th June 1764.
The nebula was observed by William Herschel in 1784.

Right Ascension 18h 02m 23s, Declination -23° 01' 48"

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RE: Trifid Nebula
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Trifid Triple Treat
Today ESO has released a new image of the Trifid Nebula, showing just why it is a firm favourite of astronomers, amateur and professional alike. This massive star factory is so named for the dark dust bands that trisect its glowing heart, and is a rare combination of three nebula types, revealing the fury of freshly formed stars and presaging more star birth.
Smouldering several thousand light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer), the Trifid Nebula presents a compelling portrait of the early stages of a star's life, from gestation to first light. The heat and "winds" of newly ignited, volatile stars stir the Trifid's gas and dust-filled cauldron; in time, the dark tendrils of matter strewn throughout the area will themselves collapse and form new stars.

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It may look as if it was taken by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, but this new image of the famous Trifid Nebula was snapped from Earth.
The terrific Trifid pictures were captured by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory, using an instrument called the Wide-Field Imager camera attached to the 2m Max-Planck-ESO telescope located at the ESO's facility in La Silla, Chile.

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The Trifid Nebula, with three (thus "Tri-") distinct divisions in the nebular cloud, which is an inspiring starbirth chamber, as seen through the Astrochannels 14" telescope and video camera.



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This image composite combines the well-known visible-light picture of the glowing Trifid Nebula with infrared views from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The Trifid Nebula is a giant star-forming cloud of gas and dust located 5,400 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.


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Position (2000): RA: 18h02m23.40s Dec: -23d01m50.10s
This image of the Trifid Nebula combines data from two of Spitzer's instruments.
The Spitzer infrared array camera image is a three-colour composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 and 8.0 microns (red). The Spitzer multiband imaging photometer image shows 24-micron emissions. The Spitzer mosaic image combines data from these pictures, showing light of 4.5 microns (blue), 8.0 microns (green) and 24 microns (red). The visible-light image is from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, Arizona.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


The false-colour Spitzer image reveal a different side of the Trifid Nebula. Where dark lanes of dust are visible trisecting the nebula in the visible-light picture, bright regions of star-forming activity are seen in the Spitzer pictures. All together, Spitzer uncovered 30 massive embryonic stars and 120 smaller newborn stars throughout the Trifid Nebula, in both its dark lanes and luminous clouds. These stars are visible in all the Spitzer images, mainly as yellow or red spots. Embryonic stars are developing stars about to burst into existence. Ten of the 30 massive embryos discovered by Spitzer were found in four dark cores, or stellar "incubators," where stars are born. Astronomers using data from the Institute of Radioastronomy millimetre telescope in Spain had previously identified these cores but thought they were not quite ripe for stars. Spitzer's highly sensitive infrared eyes were able to penetrate all four cores to reveal rapidly growing embryos.

Astronomers can actually count the individual embryos tucked inside the cores by looking closely at the Spitzer image taken by its infrared array camera. This instrument has the highest spatial resolution of Spitzer's imaging cameras. The Spitzer image from the multiband imaging photometer, on the other hand, specialises in detecting cooler materials. Its view highlights the relatively cool core material falling onto the Trifid's growing embryos.

The embryos are thought to have been triggered by a massive "type O" star, which can be seen as a white spot at the centre of the nebula in all four images. Type O stars are the most massive stars, ending their brief lives in explosive supernovas. The small newborn stars probably arose at the same time as the O star, and from the same original cloud of gas and dust.

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RE: M20
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The Trifid Nebula (M20), is visible with good binoculars towards the constellation of Sagittarius.


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The energetic processes of star formation create not only the colours but the chaos. The red-glowing gas results from high-energy starlight striking interstellar hydrogen gas. The dark dust filaments that lace M20 were created in the atmospheres of cool giant stars and in the debris from supernovae explosions. Bright young stars light up the blue reflection nebula. The light from M20 we see today left perhaps 3000(?) years ago, although the exact distance remains unknown.
Light takes about 50 years to cross M20.


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Trifid Nebula
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The beautiful Trifid Nebula (M20), lies about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.


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A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid fittingly illustrates three basic types of astronomical nebulae;
red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms,
blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight,
and dark absorption nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette.
The bright red emission nebula, roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes, lends the Trifid its popular name.
The red emission region is also surrounded by the telltale blue haze of reflection nebulae. Light-year long pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars - visible here below the centre of the emission nebula - appear in a Hubble Space Telescope close-up image of the region.


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