These evenings are among the best all year
for deep-sky exploring. The night sky is ablaze
with dazzling suns suspended in an ocean
of black ink. Untold thousands of faint stars
beckon you and your telescope out from the
warm confines of your home.
Dominating the scene, standing high above
the southern horizon, is one of the brightest
and best-known constellations in the heavens:
Orion the Hunter. Within its borders lie many
beautiful and elusive interstellar treasures.
Few of us, whether beginners or veter-
ans, would dispute that the Orion Nebula
(M42) provides the grandest view through
a telescope. The nebula surrounds Theta (θ)
Orionis, the middle star in Orion’s Sword,
making it easy to spot. Through binoculars or
a telescope, the nebula expands into a glowing
gossamer cloud engulfing Theta and several
other stars.
Even though written descriptions and
sketches of M42 communicate a feeling of
what’s visible through the eyepiece, they fail
to capture the subtlety and wide range of
brightness in the nebula. Even the finest pho-
tographs do not convey the same thrill as actu-
ally seeing M42 through the eyepiece.
Best of all, it is impressive no matter what
telescope or magnification you use. Each
Winter is a season of rapidly changing
weather conditions. With the passage
of an arctic cold front, a cloudy day may
suddenly give way to a spectacularly
clear and transparent night.
Above: Just north of the Orion Nebula lies the
detached, comma-shaped blob of nebulosity
known as M43. CHRIS SCHUR
Left: The Orion Nebula is one of the greatest stellar
birthplaces in the sky, visible even to the naked eye.
ADAM BLOCK/MOUNT LEMMON SKYCENTER/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA