There is a lot going on the Trifid Nebula! The red part is glowing emission from ionised gas within. The blue part glows because it is energised by nearby stars. Dark nebulae appear to trace across its surface, and a cluster of stars lies nearby.

See https://www.astrobin.com/1f1pk6/ for more details.

LRGB image created using PixInsight (for calibration, registration, integration) and Adobe Lightroom (for cosmetic adjustments)

#astrophotography #astronomy #DeepSkyWest #PixInsight #TrifidNebula

20 light years long, and 2,400 light years away, this dark, dense nebula is part of a star-forming region (IC 1396).

The Elephant's Trunk itself is thought to contain several very young protostars. At the very top of the trunk you can see a tiny star that has ignited fusion and is now carving out a space within the dark cloud. #Astrophotography #Nebula

SHO data from #DeepSkyWest, a remote facility I use in New Mexico. I put the image together using #PixInsight and #Lightroom