Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth ...
Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4.
Because of its brightness and prominent location just below Orion’s belt, M42 can be spotted with the naked eye, while offering an excellent peek at stellar birth for those with telescopes. It is best observed during January.
Hubble imaged most of the nebula, but ground-based images were used to fill in the gaps in its observations. The orange color in the image can be attributed to hydrogen, green represents oxygen, and the red represents both sulfur and observations made in infrared light. For more information about Hubble’s observations of M42, see:
The nebula is located in the sword of Orion and appears as the middle, slightly fuzzy-looking “star” in the sword to the unaided eye.
The billowing clouds of gas and dust are located in the Orion Constellation, just below Orion's Belt. According to NASA, the majestic nebula can even be seen with the naked eye as it has an apparent magnitude of +4.
M42 is an easy to find component of the constellation Orion. Find Orion, “the Hunter”, in the South during winter. Easy to find by his conspicuous 3-star “belt” between his shoulders and feet.
The Orion Nebula (M42) is so named because it lies within Orion the Hunter, a constellation that dominates the winter sky. To find the nebula, look below Orion's Belt where his sword hangs. Your eyes alone will see the center star as fuzzy. Binoculars help, but also reveal more fuzz.
Constellation: Orion Distance: 1,300 light years Type: Emission/Reflection Nebula Span: 25 light years Apparent Magnitude: +4.0 Discovery Date: 1610. The Orion Nebula, also known as M42 (Messier Object 42) or NGC 1976 (New Galactic Catalogue object 1976), was discovered in 1610 by French astronomer Peiresc Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc using the newly invented refracting telescope.
This dramatic image from January 2006 offers a peek inside a cavern of roiling dust and gas where thousands of stars are forming. The image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, represents the sharpest view ever taken of this region until this time, called the Orion Nebula.More than 3,000 stars of various sizes appear in this image.
This image of Messier 42 (M42) or the Orion Nebula is one of Hubble's sharpest and clearest images ever taken at a resolution of 18000x18000 pixels (downlo...
The nebula appears as the fuzzy middle star in Orion’s Sword, which is formed by a vertical row of three stars (i.e. two stars and M42) south of Orion’s Belt. The nebula can easily be seen in binoculars and small telescopes.
Admiral William Henry Smyth observed M42 in January 1834 and wrote: A multiple star, the beautiful trapezium in the “Fish’s mouth” of the vast nebula in the middle of Orion ‘s sword-scabbard. A 6 [mag], pale white; B 7, faint lilac; C 7 1/2, garnet; D 8, reddish; and E 15, blue.
The Orion Nebula is a picture book of star formation, from the massive, young stars that are shaping the nebula to the pillars of dense gas that may be the homes of budding stars. Image: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team.
November 13, 2020. Messier 42 (M42), the famous Orion Nebula, is an emission-reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. With an apparent magnitude of 4.0, the Orion Nebula is one of the brightest nebulae in the sky and is visible to the naked eye. It lies at a distance of 1,344 light years from Earth and is ...
Messier 42 occupies an area of 65 by 60 arc minutes of apparent sky and its spatial diameter measures 24 light years. The nebula has a mass 2,000 times that of the Sun and contains associations of stars, reflection nebulae, neutral clouds of dust and gas, and ionized gas. It is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, ...
Messier 42 contains hundreds of very young stars, less than a million years old, and also protostars still embedded in dense gas cocoons. The nebula is home to about 700 stars in different stages of formation.
English astronomer and physicist Edmond Halley included the Orion Nebula in his list of six nebulae in 1716. The other “nebulae” were the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31), the globular clusters Messier 13 (Hercules Globular Cluster), Messier 22 (Sagittarius Cluster) and Omega Centauri, and the open cluster Messier 11 (Wild Duck Cluster).
Appearing like glistening precious stones, M42’s Trapezium cluster, named for the trapezoidal arrangement of its central massive stars, is seen in this infrared Hubble image. All of the members of the Trapezium were born together in this hotbed of star formation.
Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history.
The four hefty stars are called the Trapezium because they are arranged in a trapezoidal pattern. Ultraviolet light unleashed by these stars is carving a cavity in the nebula and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars. This stunning Hubble image offers the sharpest view of the Orion Nebula ever obtained.
Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4.
It is best observed during January. The Mayan culture’s likening of the Orion Nebula to a cosmic fire of creation is very apt. The nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. Its bright, central region is the home of four massive, young stars that shape the nebula.
Hubble imaged most of the nebula, but ground-based images were used to fill in the gaps in its observations. The orange color in the image can be attributed to hydrogen, green represents oxygen, and the red represents both sulfur and observations made in infrared light.
Appearing like glistening precious stones, M42’s Trapezium cluster, named for the trapezoidal arrangement of its central massive stars, is seen in this infrared Hubble image. All of the members of the Trapezium were born together in this hotbed of star formation.
Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history.
The four hefty stars are called the Trapezium because they are arranged in a trapezoidal pattern. Ultraviolet light unleashed by these stars is carving a cavity in the nebula and disrupting the growth of hundreds of smaller stars. This stunning Hubble image offers the sharpest view of the Orion Nebula ever obtained.
Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history. The nebula is only 1,500 light-years away, making it the closest large star-forming region to Earth and giving it a relatively bright apparent magnitude of 4.
It is best observed during January. The Mayan culture’s likening of the Orion Nebula to a cosmic fire of creation is very apt. The nebula is an enormous cloud of dust and gas where vast numbers of new stars are being forged. Its bright, central region is the home of four massive, young stars that shape the nebula.
Hubble imaged most of the nebula, but ground-based images were used to fill in the gaps in its observations. The orange color in the image can be attributed to hydrogen, green represents oxygen, and the red represents both sulfur and observations made in infrared light.