Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae Finder Chart (annotated)

This image offers a closer look at the region surrounding the Trifid and Lagoon Nebulae, as seen in this First Look image captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. 

The Trifid Nebula (also referred to as Messier 20) is a bright, colorful cloud of gas and dust about 5,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. What makes it especially striking is the combination of features packed into one place: a glowing pink emission nebula, a cool blue reflection nebula, and dark dust lanes that split it into three sections — hence the name “Trifid.” Inside, new stars are forming and blasting out strong winds and radiation, carving up the gas around them. It gives us a dramatic glimpse at how massive stars shape their surroundings even as they’re being born.

Below the Trifid Nebula in this image is the Lagoon Nebula (or Messier 8), another vibrant stellar nursery glowing about 4,000 light-years away. You can actually spot the Lagoon with just a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. At its heart is a cluster of young, massive stars — their intense radiation lights up the surrounding gas and shapes the swirling clouds into intricate patterns. The Lagoon nebula provides scientists with a great place to study the earliest stages of star formation — how giant clouds collapse, how star clusters take shape, and how newborn stars start to reshape their environment. 

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