Full HST WFPC2 image of Trifid Nebula (opo0417g)

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Three huge intersecting dark lanes of interstellar dust make the Trifid Nebula one of the most recognizable and striking star birth regions in the night sky. The dust, silhouetted against glowing gas and illuminated by starlight, cradles the bright stars at the heart of the Trifid. This nebula, also known as Messier 20 and NGC 6514, lies within our own Milky Way Galaxy about 9,000 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Sagittarius. This image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, offers a close-up view of the center of the Trifid Nebula, near the intersection of the dust bands, where a gro