Fact Sheet
Trifid Nebula, M20
Delicate filaments of interstellar gas and dust, captured in vivid red and blue in this McDonald Observatory image of the Trifid Nebula, indicate an area of active star formation in our own galaxy 2,200 light-years away. Millions of years from now, the gas will have coalesced into a star cluster similar to the Pleiades. The red and blue areas of the nebula are caused by light from new stars in the gas cloud. (Tom Montemayor)
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