When did trifid nebula find out?

1747, the French astronomer Le gentil first discovered the trifid nebula. The trifid nebula is bright and huge, and it is a mixed reflection and emission nebula with an apparent magnitude of 8.5 and an apparent size of 29 ′× 27 ′. There are three very obvious gangsters in this nebula, which are shaped like three shiny leaves tightly and harmoniously put together, so it is called the trifid nebula. Because there are three black stripes on the nebula, some astronomers call it trifid nebula.

Trifid nebula is located in Sagittarius. If you want to find trifid nebula, you must first be familiar with Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a very spectacular constellation, located in the wide and bright area of the Milky Way, which is the center of the Milky Way. Every summer is the right season to observe Sagittarius. At the end of June and the beginning of July, just after sunset, Sagittarius rises from the east and can be seen all night.

Sagittarius is one of the zodiac 12 constellations, with Capricorn in the east and Scorpio in the west. Some people call Sagittarius Sagittarius, but that's actually an irregular name. The hero of Sagittarius is Kay Loen, a centaur whose upper body is human and lower body is horse in Greek mythology. Kay Loen is not only good at archery, but also a learned man in Greece. So many great heroes worship him as their teacher.

Because Sagittarius is located in the south, this constellation can't be seen at all in the area north of 78 north latitude on the earth, and the complete Sagittarius can only be seen in the area south of 45 north latitude. You can see the complete Sagittarius in most parts of China.

So, how can we find Sagittarius smoothly? Sagittarius has six bright stars, forming a six-star southern bucket very similar to the Big Dipper. Although the brightness and size of the six stars in Nandou are not as good as the Big Dipper, they are also very eye-catching. Six stars of the Southern Big Dipper were found, which means Sagittarius.

Sagittarius has a wide range and contains many bright stars, including two second-class stars and eight third-class stars. Sagittarius is also a place where famous deep space objects gather. Besides trifid nebula, there are 14 messier objects, such as the famous lagoon nebula M8 and horseshoe nebula M 17. Trifid nebula ranks 20th in messier catalog, abbreviated as M20.

So, where is trifid nebula? It is about 4 degrees southwest of Sagittarius with bright handle tip in Nandou Six Star. Trifid nebula is 5600 light years away.