June 30, 2008
On the day you were born, the universe was already ancient beyond measure — and yet, in all those billions of years, it had never once...
In the Center of the Trifid Nebula
Birthday · June 30, 2008
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APOD published June 30, 2008. Credit: Daniel Lopez (Observatorio del Teide). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Clouds of glowing gas mingle with dust lanes in the Trifid Nebula, a star forming region toward the constellation of Sagittarius. In the center, the three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear on the right, while other dark 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 nebulae known. The nebula lies about 9,000 light years away and the part pictured here spans about 10 light years. This image was created with the 0.8-meter IAC80 telescope on the Canary Islands of Spain.
Image credit: Daniel Lopez (Observatorio del Teide)