NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 5 June 2023: Breathtaking Trifid Nebula | Tech News

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 5 June 2023: Breathtaking Trifid Nebula

Today’s NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of M20, also known as the Trifid Nebula. Know more about this amazing celestial object here.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Jun 05 2023, 13:27 IST
Best NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Messier 101, Dumbbell Nebula, and more
image caption
1/6 Milky Way Galaxy and the Bioluminescent Sea (May 29) - It is a breathtaking snapshot of the Milky Way Galaxy captured over the bioluminescence of the sea in the Maldives. What is the turquoise glow in the water? It occurs due to single-celled Plankton, known as Noctiluca scintillans, which illuminate when stimulated by the sea waves to keep predators away. (NASA/Petr Horalek/Sovena Jani)
image caption
2/6 Milky Way Galaxy and the Bioluminescent Sea (May 29) - It is a breathtaking snapshot of the Milky Way Galaxy captured over the bioluminescence of the sea in the Maldives. What is the turquoise glow in the water? It occurs due to single-celled Plankton, known as Noctiluca scintillans, which illuminate when stimulated by the sea waves to keep predators away. (NASA/Petr Horalek/Sovena Jani)
NASA M20 Trifid Nebula
3/6 Stellar Dumbbell Nebula (May 30) - Planetary nebula M27, also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, is located about 1360 light-years away towards the constellation of Vulpecula. The Dumbbell Nebula was the 27th object and the first ever planetary nebula discovered and catalogued by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764, one of the most influential figures in the history of astronomy. (NASA/Patrick A. Cosgrove)
NASA M20 Trifid Nebula
4/6 Formation of our Universe throughout history (May 31) - This is an amazing computer simulation of our Universe as it developed throughout history. This simulation tracks gases leading from the early Universe till today. As the simulation goes on, the formation of a disk galaxy takes place. For the unaware, Disk Galaxies are formed when two or more galaxies merge, resulting in a pancake-shaped disk of stars. Our own Milky Way Galaxy is one such disk galaxy, and it will collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in the distant future, according to NASA. (NASA/ TNG Collaboration/MPCDF/FAS Harvard U)
NASA M20 Trifid Nebula
5/6 Supernova Remnant Cassiopeia A (June 1) -  It is a snapshot of Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant located about 11000 light-years from Earth towards the constellation of Cassiopeia. When a star explodes, the subsequent explosion which takes place, known as a Supernova, is the largest explosion to occur in space. According to NASA, a supernova happens when there is a change in the core, or center, of a star. A change can occur in two different ways, with both resulting in a supernova. (NASA/Hubble/CXC)
NASA M20 Trifid Nebula
6/6 Pinwheel Galaxy Messier 101 (June 2) - In this image, Messier 101, also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy can be seen located about 25 million light-years away towards the Northern constellation of Ursa Major. Messier 101 is one of the last objects catalogued by Charles Messier and it is a massive pinwheel galaxy that spans about 170,000 light-years across. According to NASA, Messier 101 is also one of the first spiral nebulae to be observed by Lord Rosse's large 19th-century telescope, the Leviathan of Parsontown. (NASA/ESA/Hubble)
NASA M20 Trifid Nebula
icon View all Images
The Trifid Nebula was catalogued by French astronomer Charles Messier. (Martin Pugh/NASA)

Over the past few months, we've seen several amazing snapshots of celestial objects as part of NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, which is published on a daily basis featuring astrophotographers from around the world. Some of these celestial bodies belong to the catalogue of Messier Objects, a set of 110 objects catalogued by French astronomer Charles Messier. Messier studied and catalogued these objects in Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas d'Étoiles and the catalogue is today known as the Messier Objects. Although Messier was an avid comet hunter, some of his most amazing discoveries include several nebulae such as the Crab Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, the Pleiades star cluster, and more.

Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a snapshot of M20, also known as the Trifid Nebula. This star-forming region is located about 9000 light-years away towards the constellation of Sagittarius. According to NASA, the Trifid Nebula is just 300,000 years old and with an apparent magnitude of 6.3, it can be spotted with a small telescope in August.

Tech used to capture the picture

This awesome picture was captured by astrophotographer Martin Pugh using an SBIG STL-11000M CCD camera and RCOS Carbon Tube Telescope, mounted on Paramount ME Robotic Telescope System. Additionally, an Astrodon filter was used.

Also read
Looking for a smartphone? To check mobile finder click here.

NASA's description of the picture

What's happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula? Three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear near the bottom, 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, cataloged as M20, is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest emission nebulas known. The star forming nebula lies about 9,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). The region pictured here spans about 20 light years.

Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

First Published Date: 05 Jun, 13:27 IST
Tags:
NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS