The entire Orion Nebula in a composite image of visible light and infrared; taken by Hubble Space Telescope in 2006
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Subtype
Reflection/Emission[2]
Right ascension
05h 35m 17.3s[1]
Declination
−05° 23′ 28″[1]
Distance
1,344±20 ly (412[3] pc)
Apparent magnitude (V)
4.0[4]
Apparent dimensions (V)
65×60 arcmins[5]
Constellation
Orion
Physical characteristics
Radius
12[a] ly
Absolute magnitude (V)
—
Notable features
Trapezium cluster
Designations
NGC 1976, M42, LBN 974, Sharpless 281
See also: Lists of nebulae
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,[b] and is known as the middle "star" in the "sword" of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky with apparent magnitude 4.0. It is 1,344 ± 20 light-years (412.1 ± 6.1 pc) away[3][6] and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light-years across (so its apparent size from Earth is approximately 1 degree). 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.[7]
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.[8] 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 and brown dwarfs within the nebula, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula.
^ ab"NGC 7538". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved October 20, 2006.
^Gater, Will; Vamplew, Anton (2010). The Practical Astronomer (1st American ed.). London: DK Pub. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7566-7324-6.
^ ab
Reid, M. J.; et al. (2009). "Trigonometric Parallaxes of Massive Star Forming Regions: VI. Galactic Structure, Fundamental Parameters and Non-Circular Motions". Astrophysical Journal. 700 (1): 137–148. arXiv:0902.3913. Bibcode:2009ApJ...700..137R. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/700/1/137. S2CID 11347166.
^
"NGC 1976 = M42". SEDS.org. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
^Revised NGC Data for NGC 1976 per Wolfgang Steinicke's Revised New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue.
^
Hirota, Tomoya; et al. (2007). "Distance to Orion KL Measured with VERA". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 59 (5): 897–903. arXiv:0705.3792. Bibcode:2007PASJ...59..897H. doi:10.1093/pasj/59.5.897.
^Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Nebula" . The American Cyclopædia.
^Press release, "Astronomers Spot The Great Orion Nebula's Successor Archived 2006-02-18 at the Wayback Machine", Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 2006.
Older texts frequently refer to the OrionNebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great OrionNebula. The OrionNebula is one of the most scrutinized and...
A nebula that is visible to the human eye from Earth would appear larger, but no brighter, from close by. The OrionNebula, the brightest nebula in the...
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 or B33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak...
the three stars of Orion's Belt, and the OrionNebula) are found within it, as shown on Orion Arm's interactive map. The Orion arm is located between...
years is Orion OB1a, northwest of Orion's Belt, and the youngest group with less than 2 million years is Orion OB1d, which contains the OrionNebula cluster...
H II regions include the OrionNebula, the Eta Carinae Nebula, and the Berkeley 59 / Cepheus OB4 Complex. The OrionNebula, about 500 pc (1,500 light-years)...
light-years away. At that distance, the Flame Nebula lies within the Orion B cloud of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The bright star Alnitak...
proplyds have been discovered in the OrionNebula. Images of proplyds in other star-forming regions are rare, while Orion is the only region with a large known...
/ NGC 6523 in Sagittarius and the OrionNebula M42. Further in the southern hemisphere is the bright Carina Nebula NGC 3372. Emission nebulae often have...
The nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebulae in our skies. Although it is four times as large as and even brighter than the famous OrionNebula, the...
Look up Orion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Orion may refer to: Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter Orion (mythology), a hunter...
first discovered in 2000 by the UK team Lucas & Roche with UKIRT in the OrionNebula. In the same year the Spanish team Zapatero Osorio et al. discovered...
known as De Mairan's Nebula and NGC 1982, is a star-forming nebula with a prominent H II region in the equatorial constellation of Orion. It was discovered...
star-forming region that produced massive stars, possibly similar to the OrionNebula. Studies of the structure of the Kuiper belt and of anomalous materials...
The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula (catalogued as Messier 17 or M17 or NGC 6618)...
Telescope have shown proplyds and planetary disks to be forming within the OrionNebula. Protoplanetary disks are thought to be thin structures, with a typical...
the size of the visible portion of the OrionNebula. It is over 6,300 times more luminous than the OrionNebula, and if it were at the same distance it...
luminosity is so great that if it were as close to Earth as the OrionNebula, the Tarantula Nebula would cast visible shadows. In fact, it is the most active...
[clarification needed] The peak surface brightness of the central region of the OrionNebula is about 17 Mag/arcsec2 (about 14 millinits) and the outer bluish glow...
captured these images of bow shocks made of dense gasses and plasma in the OrionNebula. If a massive star is a runaway star, it can form an infrared bow-shock...
Lynne A.; Hartmann, Lee W. (1998-01-10). "A Preliminary Study of the OrionNebula Cluster Structure and Dynamics". The Astrophysical Journal. 492 (2):...
emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered on February 1, 1786 by William Herschel. The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula silhouetted...
Global Information