ALL ABOUT THE ORION NEBULA

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS CRADLE OF BABY STARS THAT’S VISIBLE FROM EARTH

- Daisy Dobrijevic

The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) is the nearest star-forming region to Earth, located around 1,345 light years away, and is about 2 million years old. The billowing clouds of gas and dust are located in the constellation of Orion, just below Orion’s Belt. The majestic nebula can be seen with the naked eye, as it has an apparent magnitude of +4.0. It’s no surprise that the Orion Nebula has captivated civilisations around the world for centuries – for example, the Maya of Mesoamerica interpreted the nebula as the cosmic fire of creation.

The Orion Nebula is part of a larger stellar network called the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, one of the most active star-forming regions visible in the sky. The Orion Complex consists of several molecular clouds, including the Lambda Orionis Molecular Ring, the Orion A Cloud, which includes the Orion Nebula, and the Orion B Cloud, which includes the Flame Nebula. The bustling stellar nursery is brimming with towering pillars of gas and dust, home to fledgling stars. The entire scene is sculpted by young stars ejecting charged particles as stellar wind and emitting powerful ultraviolet light.

In the central region of the Orion Nebula are four bright stars in an open star cluster, known as the Trapezium due to their trapezoidal arrangement. These hot, young stars emit ultraviolet light that carves through the core of the nebula, leaving large cavities void of the thick clouds of gas and dust. The large chasm carved by the Trapezium conveniently faces Earth, allowing observers to peer into the nebula’s ‘heart’ and view the rich tapestry of star formation within.