Sky Notes · Deep sky

See the Orion Nebula with your own eyes

A star nursery 1,344 light-years away that you can spot from a dark site, no telescope needed.

By Bhanu Prakash, astronomer · Hyderabad

The Orion Nebula, also called M42, is a cloud of gas and dust where new stars are forming right now. It is about 1,344 light-years away, and it is one of the few nebulae you can see without a telescope.

When to look

Orion is a winter constellation. From Hyderabad it is well placed in the evening from about December to March, high in the south to south-east after dark.

Find Orion’s Belt

Look for three bright stars in a short, straight line. That is Orion’s Belt. Above and below it are two bright stars: orange Betelgeuse at one shoulder and blue-white Rigel at one foot.

Drop down to the Sword

Hanging below the belt is a fainter line of stars, Orion’s Sword. The middle “star” of the sword looks slightly fuzzy, even with the naked eye from a dark site. That fuzzy patch is the Orion Nebula.

With binoculars or a telescope

Binoculars show a misty glow around a few stars. A small telescope shows the nebula’s curving wings of gas and, at its heart, four young stars packed close together called the Trapezium. These stars are less than a million years old, and their light makes the surrounding gas glow.

A tip for seeing more

Look slightly to one side of the nebula instead of straight at it. The edge of your vision is more sensitive to faint light, so the glow appears larger and brighter. Astronomers call this averted vision.