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The stars in the Trifid Nebula
- Reference
- a-neb65-14023
- Date
- 2006-09-20
Vast clouds of hydrogen mixed with tiny dust grains are distributed throughout the Milky Way. The hydrogen can only be seen at visible wavelengths when it is illuminated by very hot stars. The light from these stars is sufficiently rich in ultraviolet light to cause the gas to glow with its characteristic red colour. In most cases, such as here, the hot stars formed recently from the hydrogen cloud. The stars found at the heart of the Trifid Nebula are here seen associated with dust lanes which are silhouetted against the glowing background. This nebula is in the constellation of Sagittarius at a distance between 5000 and 10 000 light years.
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