images

Center of the Trifid nebula

by

Nasa/Esa/Hubble heritage team/Novapix

Reference

a-neb65-14021

Date

2006-05-14

Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20 and NGC 6514, lies within our own Milky Way Galaxy between 5000 and 10 000 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope offers a close-up view of the center of the Trifid Nebula, near the intersection of the dust bands, where a group of recently formed, massive, bright stars is easily visible. These stars, which astronomers classify as belonging to the hottest and bluest types of stars called type "O," are releasing a flood of ultraviolet radiation that dramatically influences the structure and evolution of the surrounding nebula.