Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Orion (Ori)  ·  Contains:  Great Orion Nebula  ·  Lower Sword  ·  M 42  ·  M 43  ·  Mairan's Nebula  ·  NGC 1976  ·  NGC 1980  ·  NGC 1982  ·  Orion Nebula  ·  The star θ1Ori  ·  The star θ2Ori  ·  The star ιOri
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M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion, Phil Swift
M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion
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M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion

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M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion, Phil Swift
M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion
Powered byPixInsight

M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion

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Description

The Orion Nebula is visible with the naked eye even from areas affected by some light pollution. 
It is seen as the middle "star" in the "sword" of Orion, which comprises the three stars located south of Orion's Belt. 
The star appears fuzzy to sharp-eyed observers, and the nebulosity is obvious through binoculars or a small telescope.
The Orion Nebula contains a very young open cluster, known as the Trapezium due to the asterism of its primary four stars and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth.
The Trapezium is a component of the much larger Orion Nebula Cluster, an association of about 2,800 stars within a diameter of 24 light years.

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M42 (NGC1976) The Great Nebula in the constellation of Orion, Phil Swift