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Messier 42 |
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 | Located at a distance of about 1,600 light years, the Orion Nebula is the brightest diffuse nebula in the sky, visible to the naked eye, and rewarding in telescopes of every size. The Orion Nebula is also one of the easiest and most rewarding target for amateur astrophotographers. The Orion Nebula itself is still a big object in the sky, extending some 66x60 arc minutes, thus covering four times the area of the full Moon. This corresponds to a linear diameter of about 30 light years. It is also one of the brightest Deep Sky objects, well visible to the naked eye. This is a beautiful green color in an 8-inch scope. At 49x, it fits nicely in the field of view. Two large "wings" of nebulosity emanate from the Trapezium outward, like a great green bird. Below the Trapezium is a brighter patch of nebulosity. At the "head" of the bird is a cone-shaped patch of darkness which ends at the Trapezium. The four main stars of the Trapezium can easily be detected, even at 49x, the nebula is rich in both color and detail. At 88x, the Orion Nebula begins to take on some texture, with cloudlike billows appearing out of the midst of dark and light regions. |
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Great Nebula in Orion Orion Nebula M42 NGC 1976 Other description: Nebula. Constellation: Orion Dreyer description: A magnificent (or otherwise interesting) object! Theta1 Ori and the great nebula; = M42. Magnitude: 4.0 RA: 05h 35m 35.0s Dec: -05°26'50" RA: 05h 35m 24.0s Dec: -05°27'00" (Epoch 2000) Azm: 181°49'55" Alt: +38°15'12" Rise: 06:45 Transit: 12:25 Set: 18:04 Size:66.0' |