Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Orion (Ori)  ·  Contains:  41 Ori A)  ·  41 Ori C  ·  41 Ori D  ·  42 Ori)  ·  43 Ori)  ·  44 Ori)  ·  Great Orion Nebula  ·  Lower Sword  ·  M 42  ·  M 43  ·  Mairan's Nebula  ·  NGC 1976  ·  NGC 1977  ·  NGC 1980  ·  NGC 1982  ·  Orion Nebula  ·  The star 45 Ori  ·  The star Hatysa (ι Ori  ·  The star Mizan Batil I (c Ori  ·  The star Mizan Batil II (θ2 Ori  ·  The star Trapezium (θ1 Ori A  ·  The star θ1 Ori C  ·  The star θ1 Ori D  ·  the Running Man Nebula
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M-42 (Orion Nebula), Randal Healey
M-42 (Orion Nebula)
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M-42 (Orion Nebula)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
M-42 (Orion Nebula), Randal Healey
M-42 (Orion Nebula)
Powered byPixInsight

M-42 (Orion Nebula)

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Description

Another shot at the The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2,000 times that of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula.

The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features. The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula.

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  • M-42 (Orion Nebula), Randal Healey
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    M-42 (Orion Nebula), Randal Healey
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M-42 (Orion Nebula), Randal Healey

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Narrowband imaging
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