Lagoon Nebula and Trifid Nebula
Lagoon Nebula (Messier 8, red cloud) and Trifid Nebula (Messier 20, blue and pink cloud). The Lagoon Nebula, also known as Messier 8, is a massive interstellar cloud in the Sagittarius constellation located around 5,000 light years away from Earth. This nebula is classified as an emission nebula, and it's home to a star cluster denoted by NGC 6530. The massive stars within the Lagoon Nebula emit large amounts of ultraviolet radiation that ionises the gas, causing it to glow. The Trifid Nebula or Messier 20 is a star-forming nebula located 5,200 light-years away from Earth in the Sagittarius constellation. It gets its name from its unique three-lobed structure. It is a rare combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (characterized by its dense, reddish-pink part), a reflection nebula (the blue part), and a dark nebula (the apparent gaps in the former that result in the trifurcated appearance). The emission nebula part is illuminated by the young, hot, massive stars that form the open cluster. The Trifid Nebula is one of the youngest star-forming regions in the sky, with an age of only 300,000 years. Image captured from the Dark Sky Alqueva Observatory in Portugal.
Size: 5930px × 5899px
Location:
Photo credit: © MIGUEL CLARO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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