Space Time
Also known as M20, Messier 20, NGC 6514.
One record per aspect. The origin says what kind of thing each value is; the source says where it came from; the limit says what it cannot tell you.
Trifid Nebula is placed at J2000 RA 18 h, Dec -23° in Sagittarius, at an adopted distance of 5,200 light-years.
Trifid Nebula (star-forming emission nebula; central source HD 164492A, O-type ionizing star): measured footprint 32 × 24 light-years; display depth 7 light-years (not measured); outer radius used for arrival 16 light-years.
The observed three-lane silhouette, ionized cavity, blue reflection region, and HD 164492A anchor the model in the sky plane. Their line-of-sight placement is not measured, so the shallow physical depth is a disclosed presentation volume rather than claimed tomography.