M42: Orion Nebula Mosaic
			
		
		
			Credit:
		
		
			The Great Nebula in 
Orion is one of the most interesting of all astronomical nebulae known. 
Here fifteen 
pictures from the 
Hubble Space Telescope have been merged to show 
the great expanse and diverse nature of the nebula.  In addition to housing
a bright 
open cluster of stars known as the 
Trapezium, the Orion Nebula contains many 
stellar nurseries.  These nurseries contain 
hydrogen gas, 
hot young stars, 
proplyds, and stellar
jets spewing material at high speeds. Much of
the filamentary structure visible in this image are actually shock waves -
fronts where fast moving material encounters slow moving gas. Some shock
waves are visible near one of the bright stars in the lower left of the 
picture.  The 
Orion Nebula is located in the same spiral arm of 
our Galaxy as is our
Sun.  It takes light about 1500 years to 
reach us from there.