March 2, 2003

In the Center of the Trapezium

Credit & copyright: Credit: J. Bally, D. Devine, & R. Sutherland, D. Johnson ( CITA ), HST , NASA

Start with the constellation of Orion . Near Orion's belt is a fuzzy area known as the Great Nebula of Orion or M42 . In this nebula is a bright star cluster known as the Trapezium , shown above. New stellar systems are forming there in gigantic globs of gas and dust known as Proplyds . Looking closely at the above picture also reveals that gas and dust surrounding some of the dimmer stars appears to form structures that point away from the brighter stars . The above false color image was made by combining several exposures from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope .

View the original NASA APOD