May 21, 2019
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...
Deep Field: Nebulae of Sagittarius
Birthday · May 21, 2019
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APOD published May 21, 2019. Credit: Emilio Rivero Padilla. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
These three bright nebulae are often featured on telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the large nebula just left of center, and colorful M20 on the top left. The third emission region includes NGC 6559 and can be found to the right of M8. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant. Over a hundred light-years across, the expansive M8 is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae. In striking contrast, blue hues in the Trifid are due to dust reflected starlight. Recently formed bright blue stars are visible nearby. The colorful composite skyscape was recorded in 2018 in Teide National Park in the Canary Islands, Spain.
Image credit: Emilio Rivero Padilla