Many other, much larger nebulae than M42 in Orion are known, but none offers us so intimate a view of a nearby stellar nursery. To the eye, the nebula appears as a misty patch around the central star of the line of three which form Orion's sword. Binoculars or a modest telescope will show that these three 'stars' are loose groups of several individuals, but in this long exposure photograph they are lost in the central brightness. The picture was made in red light and is derived from a UK Schmidt plate, using an unsharp mask to emphasise seemingly burned-out detail.

The central group of stars, the Trapezium cluster, is responsible for producing the nebula. It is the high concentration of dust and gas in this part of the sky which has resulted in the formation of the stars, so the Orion nebula is no random association of bright stars and dusty gas. At a distance of about 1500 light years, this famous nebula is one the nearest and by far the brightest star-forming region, easily visible to the unaided eye.