Trifid Nebula (M 20, NGC 6514, Three-lobed Nebula, Eng. Trifid Nebula) — a three-lobed diffuse nebula in the constellation Sagittarius. The name of the nebula was proposed by William Herschel and means "divided into three lobes."
Discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its exact distance is unknown, with various estimates ranging from 2 to 9 thousand light-years[1]. Its width is 50 light-years. It is represented by three main types of nebulae at once — emission (pinkish color), reflection (blue color), and absorption (black color). The dark dust filaments bordering the Trifid Nebula formed in the atmospheres of cold giant stars.
The largest star in this region is HD 164492A, an O7.5III star with a mass more than 20 times that of the Sun[2], surrounded by a cluster of 3100 young stars[3].
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