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An amazing new photo of a famous nebula reveals two previously undiscovered and very distant stars.
The amazing image of the Trifid Nebula was taken by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) VISTA telescope in Chile. While the picture does capture an amazing view of the nebula in infrared light, it also has some serious scientific merit. Researchers examining the image found two unknown Cepheid variable stars, objects much brighter than the sun that brighten and fade through time, ESO said. You can also fly through the Trifid Nebula in a new video produced by ESO.
While the two newly discovered stars (located on the middle-left part of the image) appear to be embedded within the nebula in the photo, they are actually much more distant. The Trifid Nebula is located about 5,200 light-years from Earth, but the stars shine about 37,000 light-years from Earth, according to ESO.
The new picture of the Trifid Nebula looks markedly different from many earlier images of the star-forming region. Images taken of the nebula in visible light reveal amazing dark and dusty paths among the bright splashes of stars; however, the new image (taken in infrared) cuts through that dust, ESO representatives said.
Scientists sometimes use Cepheid variable stars to measure distances in the cosmos by measuring the variable brightness of the object. On average, these stars are about 500 to 300,000 more luminous than the sun, scientists have said.
VISTA took the new image as part of a survey designed to hunt for undiscovered celestial objects in the central parts of the Milky Way, according to ESO. This photo represents only a small fraction of the survey.
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