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Credit & Copyright: Anglo-Australian Telescope   
Board   
   
Explanation:
Is Orion all wet?     
Recent observations have confirmed    
that water molecules now exist in the famous    
Orion Nebula,    
and are still forming.     
   
The    
Orion Nebula (M42, shown above) is known to be composed mostly of    
hydrogen gas, with    
all other atoms and molecules being comparatively   
rare.  The nebula is so    
vast, though, that even the measured   
minuscule production rate creates enough water to fill    
Earth's oceans 60 times over every day,    
speculate discoverers led by M. Harwit    
(Cornell).     
   
The water that composes    
comets, the oceans of Earth, and even humans may have been created in a cloud like the Orion Nebula.   
   
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Orion - water
Publications with words: Orion - water
See also:
- APOD: 2025 September 7 Á All the Water on Planet Earth
- A December Winter Night
- APOD: 2024 January 31 Á Camera Orion Rising
- APOD: 2024 January 16 Á The Orion You Can Almost See
- APOD: 2023 January 25 Á LDN 1622: The Boogeyman Nebula
- All the Water on Planet Earth
- The Horsehead Nebula Region without Stars
