Posted on 05/13/2011 4:09:41 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
[Image Credit & Copyright: R Jay Gabany] Explanation: The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in colorful contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid illustrates three different types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light emitted by hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. The bright red emission region, roughly separated into three parts by obscuring, dark dust lanes, lends the Trifid its popular name. In this well met scene, the red emission is also juxtaposed with the telltale blue haze of reflection nebulae. Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, below and left of the emission nebula's center, appear in Hubble Space Telescope close-up images of the region. The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across.
(Excerpt) Read more at apod.nasa.gov ...
This space is like a Chuck Lorre vanity card.
Real awesomeness.
My idea of heaven is total awareness of the universe and the ability to be anywhere in it at any time.
Day of the Trifid Nebula
... greatest science-fiction novel of all time! Right.
My new desktop!
Thanks!
Looks like a heart (a real heart, not a valentine heart) to me. Beautiful!
I remember seeing this movie when I was little, it scared the fire out of me. There was a tree near our house that had green paint on it, we used to climb up in it and sit and we called it the Triffid Tree! :) But I was still afraid of big trees for a long time.
Looks like a double headed rat holding a Filo Down Under doll hatching out. And hatching out of the rat’s head is a dragon wearing a Molly Hatchet hat. These NASA/Hubble pics set my imagination to a 9.9 on the Richter scale.
Thank you for the post.
The link behind the pic itself is correct, I neglected to fix the other one. My apologies. :’(
I'll punish you with my humor.
Tri fids walk into a nebula...
Thanks SouthDixie!
A heart was my first thought too, although I’m still trying to figure out what the fluffy little dog with Andy Rooney eyebrows is doing sitting on it.
...the thrid one ducks.
Jeez! That thing looks like what grows in my back-yard if I don’t mow it for about two weeks.
includes one of the Trifid Nebula.
Ten Greatest Hubble Telescope Photographs - Amazing
Now That’s Nifty | 04 09 09 | Nick
Posted on 04/09/2009 12:53:20 PM PDT by Notoriously Conservative
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2225804/posts
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