M42 is the great Orion nebula. It is a naked eye object and appears as the
central star in Orion's sword. M43 is the detached nebula appearing as a comma to
the immediate left of M42 in the photograph. Orion is thought to be a stellar
birthplace with numerous stars being formed from the gas within the nebula. It is
perhaps the most beautiful nebula available to the small scope. Orion is 1600-1900 light
years distant and is approximately 30 light years in diameter, 20,000 times the size of
the entire solar system (Burnham, vol.2, page 1323). The reflection nebula NGC1977
appears in the left of the photo.
M42/43
Peddler Hill
October 1998
Hypered PJ400
FS-128 (ag), 15 minutes