The
Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. 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 1,270±76 light years and is the closest region of star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light years across.
Older texts frequently referred to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion or the Great Orion Nebula. Yet older, astrological texts refer to it as Ensis, which is also the name of the star Eta Orionis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_NebulaOrion Nebulanumbers NGC 1976 and M 42), bright diffuse nebula, faintly visible to the unaided eye in the sword of the hunter's figure in the constellation Orion. The nebula lies about 1,500 light-years from Earth and contains hundreds of very hot (O-type) young stars clustered about a nexus of four massive stars known as the Trapezium. Radiation from these stars excites the nebula to glow.
Encyclopædia Britannica Articlehttp://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9057382/...Ori'on Neb"ulaAstron.
a luminous nebula in the constellation Orion, in the center of Orion's sword. Also called Great Nebula of Orion.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/Orion+NebulaO·ri·on Neb·u·lanoun
Definition:
nebula in constellation Orion: an emission nebula in the constellation Orion, visible to the unaided eye as a hazy object in Orion's dagger
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictio... Orion Nebulabright diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion; also known as the Great Nebula of Orion and cataloged as M42 or NGC 1976. It is located near the middle of the “sword” hanging from Orion’s “belt” of stars.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.http://www.bartleby.com/65/or/OrionNeb.html**********************
Orionnebel, mit bloßem Auge erkennbarer leuchtender Gasnebel (M 42) im Sternbild Orion. Die scheinbare Ausdehnung des etwa 1 600 Lichtjahre (Lj) entfernten Orionnebels misst etwa 85′ × 60′ mit einer Gesamtmasse von etwa 700 Sonnenmassen. Der Orionnebel gilt als Entstehungsgebiet für neue Sterne.
http://lexikon.meyers.de/meyers/Orionnebel
