Trifid Nebula looks ghostly in throwback picture snapped by ESO's VISTA telescope

The Trifid Nebula, a well-known region of star formation lying within our own Milky Way Galaxy, appears faint and ghostly in a throwback picture shared by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

Look to the right side of the centre to see this famous nebula that lies about 9,000 light-years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.

ESO #Flashback: There, to the right side of the centre, is the famous Trifid Nebula, appearing faint and ghostly.🔗 https://t.co/qinAYhmenACredit: @ESO / VVV consortium / D. Minniti pic.twitter.com/0g5GBRPlFH

— ESO (@ESO) May 23, 2022

This picture of the Trifid Nebula was captured by VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy), a wide field survey telescope for the southern hemisphere, which is operated by ESO.

"This small extract from the VISTA VVV survey of the central parts of the Milky Way shows the famous Trifid Nebula to the right of the centre. It appears faint and ghostly at these infrared wavelengths when compared to the familiar view at visible wavelengths. This transparency has brought its own benefits — many previously hidden background objects can now be seen clearly. Among these are two newly discovered Cepheid variable stars, the first-ever spotted on the far side of the galaxy near its central plane," reads the image description on ESO's website.

The image was originally released in 2015.