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The Orion Nebula (M42 or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south
of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, about 1,500ly
(light years) away and hence the closest region of star formation to
Earth. M42 is estimated to be 30ly across and includes neutral clouds
of gas and dust, associations of stars, ionized volumes of gas and
reflection nebulae. It's an example of a stellar nursery, containing
approximately 700 stars in various stages of formation. Within about
100,000 years, most of the gas and dust will be ejected, forming a
young open cluster. |
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