The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier
42, M42, or NGC 1976) is
a diffuse nebula situated 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 is located at a
distance of 1,344 ± 20 light
years[ and is the closest region of
massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be
24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass
of the Sun. Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the
Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion
Nebula.
The Orion Nebula is one of the most scrutinized and photographed objects in the night sky, and is among the most intensely studied celestial features. The nebula has revealed much about the process of how stars and planetary systems are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust. Astronomers have directly observed protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, intense and turbulent motions of the gas, and the photo-ionizing effects of massive nearby stars in the nebula. There are also supersonic "bullets" of gas piercing the hydrogen clouds of the Orion Nebula. Each bullet is ten times the diameter of Pluto's orbit and tipped with iron atoms glowing bright blue. They were probably formed one thousand years ago from an unknown violent event.
Messier 43 (also known as M43, De Mairan's Nebula, and NGC 1982) is an H II region in the Orion constellation. It was discovered by Jean-Jacques Dortous de Mairan before 1731. The De Mairan's Nebula is part of the Orion Nebula, separated from the main nebula by a lane of dust. It is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.
NGC 1973/5/7 is a reflection nebula 1/2 degree northeast of the Orion Nebula. The three NGC objects are divided by darker regions. It is also called The Running Man Nebula and Sharpless Catalog 279.
This object was named 'The Running Man Nebula' by Texas Astronomical Society member Jason Ware. Approximately 20 years ago his down stairs neighbor looked at the object and said it looked like a running man. He brought this up a TAS club meeting and the name stuck. Now widely accepted as 'The Running Man'.
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Image Data
Telescope: Vixen ED130 @f/7
CCD: QHY8
Mount: Orion Atlas EQ6
Image: 6 x 10min, + 7 x 2 min
Location: Mt Pinos, Ca.
Date:4/2/2011
Captured with MaximDL
Pre-processing: Deepsky Stacker
Final Processing: Photoshop CS5
Curves, Levels, Star Masking,
Contrast Boost
Image Information
M42 is the designation
number that identifies the Great Orion
Nebula.
| Type | Reflection and Emission |
|---|---|
| Right ascension | 05h 35m 17.3s |
| Declination | -05° 23′ 28″[2] |
| Distance | 1,344±20 ly (412 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +4.0 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 65×60 arcmins |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 12 ly |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | — |
| Notable features | Trapezium cluster |
| Other designations | NGC 1976, M42, LBN 974, Sharpless 281 |
M43 is the designation number that identifies
part of the Orion Nebula
| Type | Reflection and Emission |
|---|---|
| Right ascension | 05h 35.6m |
| Declination | -05° 16′ |
| Distance | 1.6 kly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +9.0 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 20′x15′ |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Notable features | Trapezium cluster |
| Other designations | M43, NGC 1982, De Mairan's Nebula |
NGC 1973/5/7 is the designation number that identifies the Running Man Nebula
| Type | Reflection Nebula |
|---|---|
| Right ascension | 05h 35m 15.45s |
| Declination | -4 48' 23′ 06.7" |
| Distance | 1,500 ly |
| Apparent magnitude | 7.0 |
| Apparent dimensions | 40'x25'(1977) arcmins |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | ~7.5 ly(1977),2 ly(1975),1 ly(1973) |