M42: A Mosaic of Orion's Great Nebula
Credit & Copyright: C. O'Dell and S. Wong (Rice U.),
NASA
Explanation:
The Great Nebula in Orion,
an immense, nearby starbirth region, is
probably the most famous of all astronomical nebulae.
Here, 15 pictures from the
Hubble Space Telescope have been mosaicked
to cover the inner 2.5 light years of the nebula and illustrate
its diverse nature.
In addition to housing a bright open cluster of
stars known as the Trapezium, the Orion Nebula contains many
stellar nurseries.
These nurseries contain
hydrogen gas,
hot young stars,
proplyds, and stellar
jets spewing material at high speeds.
Most of the filamentary structures visible in this image are
actually shock waves -
fronts where fast moving material encounters slow moving gas.
Shocks are particularly apparent near the bright stars in the
lower left of the picture.
The Orion Nebula
is about 1500 light years distant, located in the same spiral arm of
our Galaxy as the
Sun.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
