The Trifid Nebula (Messier 20) got its name from the bands of interstellar dust that seem to divide it into three parts when seen through small telescopes.
Unfortunately, because I spent much of my youth watching bad sci-fi and horror movies on television, the name immediately makes me think of The Day of the Triffids, where walking carnivorous plants attack Earth. The Trifid Nebula is not, as far as we know, carnivorous, nor does it star Howard Keel.
Image Credit and Copyright: Mike Selby
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