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Trifid Nebula (WFC3 Compass Image)

Image titled “Trifid Nebula M20; HST WFC3/UVIS” with compass arrows and color key. A star-forming region is blue at top left, brown and amber from top right to bottom center, and black at bottom right. Tiny, amber-colored stars float throughout. Toward the left there is a brown shape that looks like a head with two horns. A label, HH 399 jet, marks the left horn. A second label, possible counter jet, marks a redder area within the “body” of brown dust. Below the title is a color key showing which WFC3 filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From top to bottom: F475W (light blue), F502N (blue), F656N (green), F673N (red), F814W (orange). At the bottom left is a scale bar labeled 1 light-year, 42 arcsec. The length of the scale bar is about one fourth of the image. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 7 o’clock. The north arrow points toward 10 o’clock.

This closeup image of the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20 or M20) captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

A jet of plasma ejected by a young protostar embedded in the brown dust, known as Herbig-Haro 399 (HH 399) is labeled, along with its suspected counter jet.

The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).

At the bottom left, the scale bar is labeled in light-years, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes one year for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.

At the bottom, the scale bar is labeled in arcseconds, a measure of angular distance on the sky. One arcsecond is equal an angular measurement of 1/3600 of one degree. There are 60 arcminutes in a degree and 60 arcseconds in an arcminute. (The full Moon has an angular diameter of about 30 arcminutes.) The actual size of an object that covers one arcsecond on the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.

This image shows visible wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which WFC3 filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the visible light that passes through that filter.

Read a full description of the image.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    18:02:23
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -23:01:48
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Sagittarius
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    5,000 light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is 2.7 arcmin across (about 4 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    These images were created with Hubble data from proposal: 18209 (C. Britt).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    February 20-22, 2026
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F502N (OII), F656N (H-alpha), F673N (SIII)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Trifid Nebula, Messier 20
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Emission Nebula, H II region
  • Release Date
    April 20, 2026
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Dazzles With Young Stars in Trifid Nebula
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, STScI; Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 4074 × 3943
    png (25.42 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 4074 × 3943
    tif (28.32 MB)
  • Full Res (JPG), 4074 × 3943
    jpg (6.42 MB)
  • 2000 × 1936
    jpg (1.24 MB)
Image titled “Trifid Nebula M20; HST WFC3/UVIS” with compass arrows and color key. A star-forming region is blue at top left, brown and amber from top right to bottom center, and black at bottom right. Tiny, amber-colored stars float throughout. Toward the left there is a brown shape that looks like a head with two horns. A label, HH 399 jet, marks the left horn. A second label, possible counter jet, marks a redder area within the “body” of brown dust. Below the title is a color key showing which WFC3 filters were used to create the image and which visible-light color is assigned to each filter. From top to bottom: F475W (light blue), F502N (blue), F656N (green), F673N (red), F814W (orange). At the bottom left is a scale bar labeled 1 light-year, 42 arcsec. The length of the scale bar is about one fourth of the image. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 7 o’clock. The north arrow points toward 10 o’clock.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the WFC3/UVIS instrument on Hubble. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. In this case, the assigned colors  are: Blue: F502N, Green: F656N, Red: F673N

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images, Videos, & Articles

A tightly cropped Hubble view of a vast star-forming region known as the Trifid Nebula. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout.

Image: Trifid Nebula (Wide Field Camera 3 Image)

NASA celebrates Hubble’s 36th anniversary with a new image of the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region it first captured in 1997. The telescope leveraged almost its full operational lifetime to show us changes in the nebula on human time scales with an improved camera.

A ground-based photo of the full Trifid Nebula is shown on the left half with an inset image from the Hubble Space Telescope at right. At left, an irregular mostly opaque circle takes up the majority of the view. The circle has a bright pink interior crossed with a few dark, jagged dust lanes. A significant region around that appears blue. The edges have shades of orange and brown, with the star-filled black background of space peeking through. Hubbleu2019s close-up is outlined just below center to the left. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout the scene. Toward the left there is a prominent brown shape that looks like a head with two horns.

Image: Full Trifid Nebula (Rubin Image with Hubble Close-up)

A pullout shows where the Hubble Space Telescope’s close-up image is located within the wider Trifid Nebula. The image at left was taken by the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. The color assignments in the images vary based on the filters in the telescopes’ cameras.

A tightly cropped Hubble view of a vast star-forming region known as the Trifid Nebula. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center in irregular, overlapping lines to the bottom-center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout.

Video: Changes in the Trifid Nebula (1997 and 2026 Observations)

Compare Hubble’s two observations of a portion of the Trifid Nebula, one taken in 2026 with the telescope’s current Wide Field Camera 3 and the other in 1997 with an earlier instrument (the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2).

A tightly cropped Hubble view of a vast star-forming region known as the Trifid Nebula. At left, text reads: Explore the Trifid Nebula. The top left is bright blue. Brown and amber colors run from top right through the center. At bottom right, the view is almost black. Tiny, amber-colored stars appear throughout.

Video: Explore the Trifid Nebula

“Fly” through the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the Trifid Nebula. The video “floats” over the ridges of gas and dust and moves up toward Herbig-Haro 399, at the top of a brown cloud that resembles a head with horns.

The Heart of the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20/NGC 6514)

Article: New Hubble Image Reveals Details in the Heart of the Trifid Nebula

This June 2004 release of Hubble images provided astronomers with detailed views of structures at the heart of the Trifid Nebula.

The Trifid Nebula: Stellar Nursery Torn Apart By Radiation From Nearby Star

Image: The Trifid Nebula, Stellar Nursery Torn Apart by Radiation from Nearby Star

This Hubble image, taken in 1997, revealed a stellar jet protruding from the head of a dense cloud.

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Details

Last Updated
Apr 20, 2026
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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