Orion Nebula a Star factory in the Making
December 9th 2009 04:58
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south[b] of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky.
Our Sun, by comparison, is about 5 billion years old.There are two nebulas in the Orion constellation the diffuse nebula NGC2024 and the orionnebula known as M42 ,both can be see with naked eye.
Orion is located 1,500 light-years away and is the nearest region of massive star-formation relatively close to Earth. Located at the center of the Orion Nebula is a group of four young, massive stars; they are collectively referred to as the "Trapezium" because of the shape they make. The Trapezium is surrounded by a halo of 1,000 faint, low-mass stars similar to the Sun.
This new Hubble image of the Orion Nebula shows thick pillars of gas and dust that may be the homes of new stars just starting out these , are young, massive stars that have emerged from their cocoons and are shaping the nebula with powerful ultraviolet light.
The Orion Constellation as seen from the southern hemisphere
Orion as seen in the northern hemisphere
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Our Sun, by comparison, is about 5 billion years old.There are two nebulas in the Orion constellation the diffuse nebula NGC2024 and the orionnebula known as M42 ,both can be see with naked eye.
Orion is located 1,500 light-years away and is the nearest region of massive star-formation relatively close to Earth. Located at the center of the Orion Nebula is a group of four young, massive stars; they are collectively referred to as the "Trapezium" because of the shape they make. The Trapezium is surrounded by a halo of 1,000 faint, low-mass stars similar to the Sun.
Orion Nebula Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team
This new Hubble image of the Orion Nebula shows thick pillars of gas and dust that may be the homes of new stars just starting out these , are young, massive stars that have emerged from their cocoons and are shaping the nebula with powerful ultraviolet light.
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