Optical images reveal clouds of gas and dust in the Orion Nebula; an infrared image (right) reveals the new stars shining within.
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier Object 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a glowing nebula with a greenish hue and is situated below Orion's Belt. It is possibly the brightest diffuse nebula visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of about 1,600 light years from the planet Earth, is 33 light years across, and can be seen clearly through even low-power binoculars, particularly from dark sky locations.
The Orion Nebula contains a very young open cluster, with many stars still in their early years. Observations with powerful telescopes (especially the Hubble Space Telescope) have found stars enclosed in dust rings, probably the first phase of a planetary system formation.
The Orion Nebula was discovered in 1610 by Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc and has fascinated astronomers ever since.
The NGC was compiled in the 1880s by Dreyer using observations mostly from William Herschel, and then subsequently expanded with two Index Catalogues (ICs), adding nearly 5,000 objects.
NGC 2346 - a planetary nebula in the Monoceros constellation
NGC 5866 - A lenticular galaxy in the Draco constellation
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