This beautiful object is commonly known as The Orion Nebula, or M-42.
A nebula is usually made of gas and dust. The gas glows like a neon light,
ionized by the brilliant stars nearby. Dust reflects light from the stars to us,
and sometimes blocks our view of more distant parts of the nebula.

M-57 - The Ring Nebula

This tiny nebula is located in the constellation Lyra. This, and others like it, are known as Planetary Nebulae, because of their resemblance to planets in the earliest telescopes.

In fact, the ring is a glowing cylinder of dust ejected as a star evolved into a red giant at the end of its life. We are looking through the cylinder, from one end to the other. The dim central star is magnitude 14.7 - rarely visible through a telescope.

M-17 - The Eagle Nebula

M-27 - The Dumbbell Nebula

M-8 - The Lagoon Nebula

 

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Last modified: November 09, 2003