The Great Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976) is probably the brightest, most famous and most imaged nebula in the night sky. About 1,500 light years away, M42 is a very active and turbulent cloud of gas and dust and an important star forming region.. There are many hot young stars (most notably the Trapezium stars which can be seen clearly in these images) which ionise the surrounding gas. There is also a significant amount of reflected light which contributes to the wide range of visible colours.
| Hubble | Canadian-France-Hawaii Telescope | Nicholson | |
| Red | SII | H alpha | H alpha |
| Green | H alpha | OIII | SII |
| Blue | OIII | SII | OIII |
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| Hubble | CFHT | Nicholson |
Following image enhancement
Return to Short Projects and Targets of Opportunity
In collaboration with the Remote Astronomical Society Observatory
Martin Nicholson - Daventry, United Kingdom.
This page was last updated on October 4th 2008.