You’ll find M20, the Trifid nebula, in a dark sky near the spout of the Teapot in Sagittarius. Notice the 3 westernmost (right-hand) stars of the Teapot spout, then get ready to star-hop! If you use binoculars, go about twice the spout’s distance upward until a bright hazy object glares at you in your binoculars. That’s the Lagoon nebula (Messier 8), which is visible to the unaided eye on a dark, moonless night. Once you locate the Lagoon nebula, look for the Trifid nebula as a hazy obj...
