                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2026 May 3
    A field of stars on the left is mirred by a wall of opaque brown dust
   on the right. Jutting out from the wall is a long pillar with a rounded
   end that has a prominent light- colored jet emanating toward the upper
   left. The stellar background toward the upper left is dark blue. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                           Trifid Pillars and Jets
      Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI; Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

   Explanation: Dust pillars are like interstellar mountains. They survive
   because they are more dense than their surroundings, but they are
   slowly being eroded away by a hostile environment. Visible in the
   featured picture by the Hubble Space Telescope is the end of a huge gas
   and dust pillar in the Trifid Nebula (M20), punctuated by a smaller
   pillar pointing up and an unusual jet pointing to the upper left. Many
   of the bright dots are newly formed stars. A star near the small
   pillar's end is slowly being stripped of its accreting gas by radiation
   from a tremendously brighter star situated off the top of the image.
   The jet extends nearly a light-year and would not be visible without
   external illumination. As gas and dust evaporate from the pillars, the
   hidden stellar source of this jet will likely be uncovered, possibly
   over the next 20,000 years.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

