The Orion Nebula

The Orion Nebula (M42 in the Messier Catalogue or NGC 1976) – An H II region nebula in the constellation of Orion.

The Orion Nebula
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Orion Nebula (M42). Credits: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team. From: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-42-the-orion-nebula
Location of M42 the Orion Nebula
Location of M42, the Orion Nebula, in Orion’s sword

The equatorial coordinates of the Orion Nebula are:
Right Ascension: 05h 35m 17.3, Declination: −05° 23′ 28″

The Orion Nebula appears as the middle ‘star’ in the sword of Orion – the asterism of aligned stars that appear to hang below (in the northern hemisphere) the three widely recognised stars of Orion’s belt. Through a small telescope or good pair of binoculars, the shape of the dust clouds surrounding the nebula can be clearly seen along with some of the stars that have formed in this stellar nursery.

To find the Orion Nebula’s current position in the sky from your location, visit our Night Sky Simulator.

Astronomy, Cosmology, Space and Astrophysics