The Trifid Nebula lies in the heart of the Milky Way somewhere between 2200 and 7600 light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. The prominent dust lanes trisecting the Trifid Nebula, standing out in a striking contrast to the bright ionized hydrogen gas behind it, were categorized by the eagle-eyed astronomer Edward Barnard as B85. The word "trifid" is an accurate description of this object, it defined in a botanical or biological sense as "dividing into three lobes or parts".