Orion Nebula Report

Donovan‬‭1‬ ‭ ayla Renèe Donovan‬ K ‭Professor Blain‬ ‭Astronomy 104 / Lab‬ ‭27 November 2025‬ ‭Orion Nebula Image Report‬ ‭ he Orion Nebula (also known as M42) is a diffuse emission nebula. This means that it’s a‬ T ‭giant cloud of gas and dust glowing due to the young, high temperature stars inside of the nebula. It’s‬ ‭located in the constellation Orion, near the “sword” that is attached to Orion’s belt, and it’s 1,344‬ ‭light years away from Earth. Compared to the universe as a whole, that’s relatively close! The Orion‬ ‭Nebula is 24 light years across and has a mass of around 2,000 times the mass of the Sun, which‬ ‭means that it’s one of the largest and brightest star-forming regions that are visible to us in the night‬ ‭sky. It’s the closest place to Earth where stars are actively forming, which is one of the reasons it’s‬ ‭widely studied by astronomers.‬ ‭The nebula has been seen since ancient times, but it wasn’t actually recognized as a nebula‬ ‭until 1610 when Nicolas Claude Fabrice de Peiresc recorded the first telescopic observation. In 1656,‬ ‭astronomer Christiaan Huygens sketched the Orion Nebula in detail. His drawings were so accurate‬ ‭that the bright center of the nebula is still called the Huygens Region to this day! In addition, the‬ ‭constellation Orion appears in Greek mythology and ancient Egyptian star observations as well, and‬ ‭it means “heaven’s light,” which is accurate since the nebula produces a lot of light from both‬ ‭forming stars and other interesting structures. The nebula is actually visible with the unaided eye, as‬ ‭long as the sky is dark and there is no artificial light nearby. Recently, professional telescopes like the‬ ‭Hubble Space Telescope and JWST have turned the Orion Nebula into a well known celestial object,‬ ‭since new details have been discovered. New stars, shockwaves, dust disks, and celestial structures‬ ‭that haven’t been seen before have made the Orion Nebula a point of interest. It’s important‬ ‭scientifically, because astronomers are able to determine how stars and planets form by observing the‬ ‭nebula.‬ ‭Image Analysis:‬ ‭This first image of the Orion Nebula to the left is my full-color image.‬ ‭The bright white center of the nebula is where the Trapezium Cluster is‬ ‭located, which is where there are four bright, young stars arranged in a‬ ‭trapezoid shape. The bright pink areas are glowing hydrogen gas, and the‬ ‭purple and blue sections are scattered light and gas from young, high‬ ‭temperature stars. The sections that are darker (dark blue / black) are where‬ ‭there is cold dust that is blocking the light of stars. The sections that appear‬ ‭to be wisps or “pillars” of gas are pushed by stellar winds and star‬ ‭formation.‬ ‭This second image is a professional image from the Hubble Space‬ ‭ elescope of the Orion Nebula. Since there are more than 3,000 stars of‬ T ‭various ages (and sizes) in the nebula, the non-visible light in this image‬ ‭captures a lot of those stars. The ultraviolet light from the stars in the‬ ‭Trapezium creates the “canyon” or “cavity” in the center of the Orion‬ ‭Nebula, where we can see the scattered light and the disrupted growth of‬ ‭hundreds of other small stars. In addition, there are protoplanetary disks‬ ‭(also called “proplyds”) which are too small to be seen clearly in this image,‬ ‭but the non-visible light helps capture their locations near the Trapezium‬ ‭Cluster in the center. According to‬‭nasa.gov‬‭, the bright glow at the top left‬ ‭Donovan‬‭2‬ c‭ orner is from M43, which is a small region that is next to the main Orion Nebula (also known as‬ ‭M42 or Messier 42)! There is only one star that is sculpting the gas and the rest of the celestial‬ ‭objects in this smaller nebula, as opposed to the four stars in the Trapezium Cluster of the main Orion‬ ‭Nebula. The faint red stars near the bottom of the Hubble Space Telescope image are brown dwarf‬ ‭stars that are able to be seen with visible light but are more clearly seen here with non-visible light.‬ ‭The false colors in this image represent the apparent wavelength of the light: shorter wavelengths and‬ ‭higher energy appear in red / orange / white, while longer wavelengths and lower energy appear in‬ ‭blue / purple. They cannot sustain nuclear fusion, so they’re essentially stuck as brown dwarf stars‬ ‭and cannot become normal stars. Also, this image was created using 520 Hubble pictures that were‬ ‭taken in five colors between 2004 and 2005!‬ ‭While my image captures the bright and dramatic glow of visible light from the Orion‬ ‭Nebula, the Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the cosmic structures that can only be seen in‬ ‭non-visible light. Together, the two images show the many features of the Orion Nebula, as it’s‬ ‭beautiful and colorful on the surface, but also chaotic and full of young stars on the inside. My image‬ ‭shows most of the outside of the nebula, like what you would see if you had insanely good vision and‬ ‭a rocket to fly you to the Orion Nebula faster than light speed. On the other hand, the Hubble Space‬ ‭Telescope image uses wavelengths to capture the inside structures and features of the nebula.‬ ‭The Orion Nebula is particularly interesting because it is the closest star nursery to Earth. In‬ ‭addition, the protoplanetary disks (also known as proplyds) give us lots of information about how‬ ‭planets form! The Trapezium Cluster in the center of the nebula provides a lot of light that changes‬ ‭the emitted wavelengths that come from the Orion Nebula. All of these features are very valuable‬ ‭sources for astronomers, as they help us understand unique celestial structures.‬ ‭To create my full color image of the Orion Nebula, I used pixelated data from JPL (12 images‬ ‭total: 3 of each color (red, green, and blue), and then also 3 dark pictures) and downloaded those into‬ ‭a folder on the desktop. Then, I performed data subtraction for each color (subtracting the colored‬ ‭images from the dark images for a total of 9 new images), then data addition to add the 3 images of‬ ‭each color (red, green, and blue) together so there was one red, one green, and one blue image. After‬ ‭that, I touched up the orientation of the three images and layered them together so there was one total‬ ‭image. Lastly, I altered the lighting so that the pinkish-purple color of the Orion Nebula was very‬ ‭visible!‬ ‭Bibliography‬ ‭Harvard.edu (2024). The Anatomy of Orion | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.‬ ‭[online] Available at: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/anatomy-orion.‬ ‭Harvard.edu (2025). Mystery in the Orion Nebula | Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.‬ ‭[online] Available at: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/mystery-orion-nebula.‬ ‭information@eso.org (2025). The Center of the Orion Nebula. [online] www.esahubble.org.‬ ‭Available at: https://esahubble.org/images/opo9545a1/ [Accessed 28 Nov. 2025].‬ ‭NASA Science. (2006). Hubble’s Sharpest View of the Orion Nebula - NASA Science. [online]‬ ‭Available at:‬ ‭NASA (2024). Messier 42 (The Orion Nebula) - NASA Science. [online] science.nasa.gov. Available‬ ‭at:‬ ‭https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalo‬ ‭g/messier-42/.https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/hubbles-sharpest-view-of-the-orion-nebul‬ ‭a/.‬ ‭www.pbs.org. (n.d.). Seeing in the Dark. Astronomy Topics. Orion Nebula | PBS. [online] Available‬ ‭at: https://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/astronomy-topics/orion-nebula.html.