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Hubble Space Telescope Observes Trifid Nebula Changes Over 29 Years

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Hubble's 36th Anniversary: A New View of the Trifid Nebula

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have released a new image of the Trifid Nebula from the Hubble Space Telescope, marking the observatory's 36th anniversary. The image, captured with an upgraded camera, shows a region of star formation approximately 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.

A comparison with Hubble's 1997 observation of the same area reveals changes over nearly three decades, allowing for measurements of stellar outflows.

The Anniversary Observation

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on April 24, 1990. To mark its 36th anniversary in orbit, mission scientists directed it to re-observe a section of the Trifid Nebula, a massive cloud of gas and dust where new stars are born. The initial observation of this region was made in 1997.

The new image was taken using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed by astronauts during Servicing Mission 4 in 2009. This instrument has a wider field of view and greater sensitivity than the camera used for the 1997 observation.

Features of the "Cosmic Sea Lemon"

The visible light image focuses on a section of the nebula that some observers have noted resembles a marine sea lemon or sea slug, informally referred to as the "Cosmic Sea Lemon." Key features identified by astronomers include:

  • Herbig-Haro 399: The left "horn" of the feature is part of this structure, a jet of plasma ejected by a young protostar. A counter-jet is visible as jagged orange and red lines to the lower right.
  • Additional Stellar Activity: Another young star with a faint jet is located at the tip of the right "horn." Streaks and lines throughout the image may indicate activity from other young stars.
  • Dust Variations: The image shows areas of differing dust density. The clearest view is toward the top left, where ultraviolet light from massive stars has cleared dust. The far-right corner shows dense dust where foreground stars may be visible.
  • A Small Pillar: A faint pillar of gas and dust is visible to the left of the main feature.

Scientific Analysis and Changes Over Time

By comparing the new image with the 1997 observation, researchers can track changes in the nebula over a 29-year period. This allows them to:

  • Measure the speeds of outflows from protostars.
  • Determine the energy levels being injected into the surrounding nebula by these young stars.
  • Identify areas where circumstellar disks may be eroding and where new waves of star formation are being triggered.

Scientific analysis indicates that massive stars outside the immediate field of view have been shaping the region with powerful stellar winds for at least 300,000 years, creating bubbles in the gas and dust.

Hubble's Mission Status and Legacy

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope, while the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts science operations.

Mission statistics provided by the agencies state that Hubble has made over 1.7 million observations since its launch, contributing to more than 23,000 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

All Hubble data is publicly archived in the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes. Since 2022, researchers have regularly combined Hubble observations with data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Future observations from NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope may provide additional context for Hubble's findings.