Sagittarius is at its highest just after sunset on early autumn evenings. Traditionally depicted as a half-human, half-horse figure known as a centaur, the constellation's brightest stars are today recognized as the form of a teapot. The center and densest part of the Milky Way Galaxy lies in the direction of Sagittarius and on moonless nights far from city lights appears as "steam" rising from the teapot's spout. This year, the planet Jupiter is located in Sagittarius, to the upper-left of the Teapot figure. Sagitattarius is home to several prominent Messier objects, including M8, the Lagoon Nebula and M20, the Trifid Nebula.