The Trifid Nebula (catalogued as Messier 20 or M20 and as NGC 6514) is an H II region in the north-west of Sagittarius in a star-forming region in the Milky Way's Scutum–Centaurus Arm. It was discovered by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. Its name means 'three-lobe'. The object is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula (the relatively dense, reddish-pink portion), a reflection nebula (the mainly NNE blue portion), and a dark nebula (the apparent 'gaps' in the former that cause the trifurcated appearance, also designated Barnard 85).
| Object | M20 Trifid Nebula |
| Constellation: | |
| Position: | RA 18h 02m 23s Dec -23° 01′ 48″ |
| Apparent Size: | 28' |
| Apparent Magnitude: | 6.3 |
| Distance in light years: | 4100 ly |
| Photo Data | |
| Date: | 2022-03-09 to 2022-03-30 |
| Location: | Yunling Observatory, Kunming, China GPS: 25.033, 102.717 |
| Telescope: | Sky Rover 130APO Pro f7/910mm |
| Camera: | Atik One 2749 x 2199px |
| Field of View: | |
| Pixel Scale/Resolution: | |
| Expose frames/times: | R 18x300s, G 13x300s, B 14x300s |
| Total expose: | 3h 45m |
| Filter: | |
| Mount: | |
| Software: | Siril 1.4, Photoshop CC |
| Remarks: |
© 2025 Peter Cerveny