The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976)
is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way south of Orion's Belt
in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae,
and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at
a distance of 1,344 ± 20 light years and is the closest region
of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be
24 light years across. It has a mass of about 2000 times the mass of the Sun.
Older texts frequently refer to the Orion Nebula as the Great Nebula in Orion
or the Great Orion Nebula.