Object dossier

Orion Nebula

Emission Nebula

One of the brightest diffuse nebulae in the night sky and a common target for deep sky astrophotography.

Facts

Catalog numbers
Messier: M42
Ngc: NGC 1976
Constellation
Orion
Coordinates
RA: 05h 35m 17s
Dec: -05deg 23m 28s RA: 83.8221deg · Dec: -5.3911deg
Magnitude
4.0
Angular size
85 x 60
arcmin

Images

Widefield Orion and Horsehead mosaic with M42 and Barnard33.
Orion and Horsehead Nebula Mosaic Jan 22, 2026
Orion and Horsehead Nebula Mosaic Jan 22, 2026
Widefield image of Orion Nebula (M42) with surrounding dust.
Orion Nebula Widefield Dec 26, 2025
Orion Nebula Widefield Dec 26, 2025