Orion Nebula

Orion Nebula — nebula, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

The nearest stellar nursery: a glowing cavern of gas where thousands of new stars are igniting right now. Four newborn giants — the Trapezium — light the whole cloud from inside.

Type
Star-forming nebula
Distance
1,344 light-years
Diameter
~24 light-years
Age
< 3 million years
Visible
Naked eye — Orion’s sword

Seeing Orion Nebula in real time

Orion Nebula is placed at its true position on the sky and at its real measured distance, not as a flat backdrop. Fly out from the Sun in the live 3D view and watch it change from a point of light into structure as you approach, with the scale bar showing just how far out you have travelled.

Interactive universe A living map of the solar system
Interactive universe
Waking the solar system…