Discovered by Charles Messier in 1764, M20 is a star-forming nebula located 9,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. Also known as the Trifid Nebula, M20 has an apparent magnitude of 6.3 and can be spotted with a small telescope. It shows up as a fuzzy nebula in most widefield milky way shots and is often imaged alongside the Lagoon Nebula. Messier 20 includes a unique combination of an open cluster of stars, an emission nebula, a reflection nebula, and a dark nebula. All of these elements combine to create one of the most stunning deep sky objects in our night sky. M20 is an exquisite deep sky astrophotography target for amateur photographers, and worthy of extra attention through any telescope.