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The Orion Nebula, aka Messier 42 (M42), is a star-forming region in the winter constellation. It is located at a distance of 1,500 light-years from Earth and is known as one of the nearest star-forming regions. Due to its large apparent size, the Orion Nebula is easy to find with the naked eye, and many stars can be seen through an amateur telescope.
At the center of the Orion Nebula is a cluster of massive newborn stars called Trapezium that ionize surrounding hydrogen gas by their ultraviolet light. The ionized gas emits a red glow.
Image Credit: NAOJ
Image enhancement: Jean-Baptiste Faure
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