June 26, 2002
The same gravity that holds galaxies together and keeps planets in their orbits also held you to the Earth on the day you were born.
In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
Birthday · June 26, 2002
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APOD published June 26, 2002. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Clouds of glowing gas mingle with lanes of dark dust in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius. In the center, the three huge dark dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear on the lower left, while filaments of dust are visible threaded throughout the nebula. A single massive star visible near the center causes much of the Trifid's glow. The Trifid, also known as M20, is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest emission nebula known. The nebula lies about 5000 light years away and part pictured above spans about 20 light years. The above false-color digitally enhanced image was taken with the Gemini North telescope earlier this month.