An overview of the Chandra mission and goals, Chandra's namesake, top 10 facts.
Classroom activities, printable materials, interactive games & more.
Overview of X-ray Astronomy and X-ray sources: black holes to galaxy clusters.
All Chandra images released to the public listed by date & by category
Current Chandra press releases, status reports, interviews & biographies.
A collection of multimedia, illustrations & animations, a glossary, FAQ & more.
A collection of illustrations, animations and video.
Chandra discoveries in an audio/video format.
Download Image
JPEG
JPEG (85.7 kb)
TIFF
Tiff (5.8 MB)
PS
PS (6 MB)
High Quality Prints
Powerpoint and PDF
High Quality Prints
Image with Scalebar

More Information
Press Release
Press Room:
Orion Nebula
Handout
Handout: html | pdf

More Images
Chandra X-ray Image with Scale Bar
(Credit: NASA/PSU)
More Images
More Images

More Releases
Orion Nebula
Orion Nebula
(03 Oct 07)
Orion Nebula
Orion Nebula
(10 May 05)

Related Images
M17
M17
(14 Aug 03)
Orion Nebula:
Chandra Finds X-ray Star Bonanza in Orion Nebula

Orion Nebula
Credit: NASA/PSU

Chandra Image of the Orion Nebula Star Cluster. This X-ray image shows about a thousand X-ray emitting young stars in the Orion Nebula star cluster. The X rays are produced in the multimillion degree upper atmospheres of these stars. At a distance of about 1800 light years, this cluster is the closest massive star forming region to Earth. It is well-known in the night sky because it illuminates the Orion Nebula. The region shown in this image is about 10 light years across. The bright stars in the center are part of the Trapezium, an association of very young stars with ages less than a million years. The dark vertical and horizontal lines, and the streaks from the brightest stars are instrumental effects.

Fast Facts for Orion Nebula:
Credit  NASA/PSU
Scale  Image is 17 arcmin across.
Category  Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 05h 35m 14.29s | Dec -05° 23' 37.91"
Constellation  Orion
Observation Dates  October 12, 1999
Observation Time  13 hours
Obs. IDs  18, 1522
Color Code  Intensity
Instrument  ACIS
Also Known As M42
References G. Garmire et al. 2000, Astron. J. 120:1426-1435
Distance Estimate  1,500 light years
Release Date  January 14, 2000