Messier 42 (Great Orion Nebula) - Star Cluster + Nebula in Orion
Messier 42 is a Star Cluster + Nebula in the Orion constellation. Messier 42 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.
The image below is a photograph of Messier 42 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 3x3 degrees (180x180 arcmins).
Key facts about Messier 42
Messier 42 is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
Altitude: -38.6°
Azimuth: 35.9°
Direction: North-East
See also Messier 42 rise and set times.
Given its visual magnitude of 4, Messier 42 is barely visible to the naked eye, easily visible with the help of a small binocular.
Photometric information of Messier 42
The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 42 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).
For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.
Apparent size of Messier 42
The following table reports Messier 42 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 42 is a visual representation of it.Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 42
Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 42 are provided in the following table:
The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 42 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.
Rise and set times of Messier 42 from your location
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Messier 42 (Great Orion Nebula) - Star Cluster + Nebula in Orion rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):