Messier 42 or M42 (also designated NGC 1976) is a nebula in the constellation Orion. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4 and its angular diameter is 85x60 arc-minutes. M42 lies at an estimated distance of 1600 light years. The Equinox 2000 coordinates are RA= 5h 35.4m, Dec= -05° 27´ which makes M42 best seen during the winter.

It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. It is 1,344 ± 20 light-years (412.1 ± 6.1 pc) away and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across.

This iconic object is the brightest nebula in the northern hemisphere and one of the only ones visible to the naked eye, seen as the "sword" hanging beneath Orion's Belt. I think it is the most spect...

2024年11月4日 · M42: 猎户座大星云 影像提供与版权: Fényes Lóránd. 说明: 猎户座大星云是个庞大邻近的恒星诞生区，而它或许是所有天文星云中声名最著者。在此星云里，环拱在炽热年轻恒星周围的辉光气体，全都座落在一团距离我们只有1,500光年远、极为广袤的星际分子云之 ...

2024年9月10日 · Believed to be the cosmic fire of creation by the Maya of Mesoamerica, M42 blazes brightly in the constellation Orion. Popularly called the Orion Nebula, this stellar nursery has been known to many different cultures throughout human history.

This is my first narrow band data set/processing attempt of M42, The Great Orion Nebula. This is a narrowband exposure of Ha, Sii, and Oiii with a combination of short, "medium", and "Longer" exposure...

除了各个结构可供观测之外，M42明亮的中心还有几颗具有欣赏性的灼热的恒星。参考右图Stellarium演示，东南的是θ2，西北的是θ1。 小口径的望远镜很容易看到ABCD。其他恒星在长曝光图片里看的很轻松，不过实际上E和F都是11等星，至少需要6寸的望远镜才能分辨。

2018年2月8日 · The Orion Nebula, or M42, is probably the most photographed deep sky object by amateur astronomers. It is one of the brightest nebulas on the night sky, can be seen by the naked eye, and can be easily found located just under the characteristic of Orion’s belt in the constellation of Orion.

The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky.

M42：猎户座大星云 . 影像提供与版权: Francesco Battistella. 说明: 跨幅约40光年、距离约1,500光年的 猎户座大星云 ，和太阳都位在银河系的同一道旋臂上。座落在著名猎户座内、轻易可辨的腰带三星左下方之猎户座大星云，是个肉眼可见天体。