Trifid Nebula
Where is the Trifid Nebula?
Look southwest, about 10° up at 20:20 in Sagittarius. It sinks lower through the evening and sets at 22:02.
- Rises
- 14:12
- Highest
- 18:07
- Sets
- 22:02
- Best after dark
- 20:20 · 10°
Can I see the Trifid Nebula tonight?
From London tonight, the Trifid Nebula is above the horizon after dark. It’s highest soon after dark, around 20:20, in the southwest at 10°.
At magnitude 8.5, with its light spread out, it needs a telescope and a dark sky.
This is position and timing only: clouds, haze and light pollution aren’t included.
What does the Trifid Nebula look like?
Eyes
Not visible.
Binoculars
A faint glow around a star, near the brighter Lagoon.
Telescope
With 150 mm or more under dark skies, a round glow split by dark lanes. A nebula filter helps the red part but dims the blue part.
About the Trifid Nebula
The Trifid Nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in Sagittarius, divided into three lobes by dark lanes of dust, which gives it its name.
It combines three kinds of nebula in one: a red emission nebula glowing from hydrogen, a blue reflection nebula around it, and dark dust lanes cutting through. It lies roughly 4,000–5,000 light-years away.
The Trifid sits just north of the Lagoon Nebula, and both fit in one binocular field.
Messier added the Trifid to his list in 1764, and John Herschel gave it its name. A hot multiple star at its center provides most of the light that makes the gas glow.
Space telescope images show jets and young stars still embedded in its dusty lanes. It is a young nebula, thought to be only a few hundred thousand years old.
It is best placed on summer evenings from mid-northern latitudes, low in the south.
Nearby in the sky
Questions
Why is it called the Trifid?
Sources: OpenNGC (CC BY-SA 4.0); star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences