Chandra Release - May 10, 2005

Visual Description: Orion Nebula

This Chandra X-ray Observatory image features the Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42 (M42), which is a bright nebula located in the constellation Orion. In the image, the Orion Nebula appears as a large, bright, and colorful cluster of stars against a black background. The nebula has a few very large bright sources at its center with smaller stars speckled throughout.  The image is dominated by shades of blue, pale yellow, and red. This stunning Chandra image shows the rich cluster of young stars in Orion observed almost continuously for 13 days. The long observation enabled scientists to study the X-ray behavior of young Sun-like stars with ages between 1 and 10 million years. They discovered that these young stars produce violent X-ray outbursts, or flares, that are much more frequent and energetic than anything seen today from our 4.6 billion-year-old Sun.