The route / Orion Nebula
Sector 8 · Nebula
Orion Nebula
A stellar nursery lit by the four Trapezium stars at its heart.
The Orion Nebula, Messier 42, is the nearest large region where stars are forming. You can see it without a telescope as a fuzzy patch in the sword of Orion.
At its centre is the Trapezium, a tight group of hot young stars whose ultraviolet light makes the surrounding gas glow. Telescopes have found many young stars there surrounded by discs of gas and dust that may one day form planets.
Key facts
- Distance
- About 1,350 light-years
- Catalogue name
- Messier 42
- Size
- About 24 light-years across
- Heart
- The Trapezium cluster
Orion Nebula in Comet Courier
The Orion Nebula sector glows pink and teal, with the Trapezium stars bright at its core. The course is properly busy from here on.