Object designations:

• M42 + M43, NGC1976 + NGC1982, the Great Orion Nebula
• NGC1977, Running Man Nebula

• M42 + M43 - Diffuse emission nebula
• NGC1977 - Diffuse reflection nebula

• M42 - 66' X 60' (M42)
• M43 - 20' X 15' (M43)
• NGC1977 - 20'

M42 + M43 and NGC1977 are the most prominent objects in the Sword of Orion. Many parts of that nebulae complex have their own NGC designations. All these objects are parts of much larger Orion molecular cloud.

M42 & M43 is the brightest diffuse nebula in the sky, visible with the naked eye. This turbulent cloud of gas and dust shines with its own light, having atoms excited by the radiation of young, very hot stars within it. Forming of new star systems is still going on within the cloud. The Orion Nebula is the most prominent part of larger cloud of gas and dust spanning more than half the constellation of Orion. The Orion Nebula is 1500 ly distant from us and its diameter is some 30 ly.

NGC1977, the Running Man Nebula is situated close to M42, the Great Orion Nebula. It shines mostly due to the light reflected from the bright stars in Orion. The stars on the image appear to the unaided eye as a single star, northernmost star in the sword of Orion. This reflection nebula appears blue because the blue light from the neighbouring stars scatters more efficiently from nebula gas than does the red light. The dark lanes seen on the image are composed mostly of interstellar dust. The nebula is 1500 ly distant.

List of related images:

Running Man Nebula, OSC, ZWO ASI178MC Cool through AT65EDQ telescope

The Running Man, LRGB, ST2000XM through WO ZS105ED telescope

M42 & M43 Orion Nebula, LRGB, ST2000XM through WO ZS105ED telescope

M42 & M43 Orion Nebula, OSC, Altair Hypercam 533C through APM/LZOS 105/650 APO telescope