![]() The Orion Complex itself is hundreds of light years across, spreading from the stars of Orion’s Belt all the way to Orion’s Sword. M78 is the brightest reflection nebula in this group. Messier 78 is located in a region of the sky that contains several other nebulae that belong to the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, including NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. The total exposure times were 9, 9, 17.5 and 15.5 minutes per filter, respectively. This colour picture was created from many monochrome exposures taken through blue, yellow/green and red filters, supplemented by exposures through a filter that isolates light from glowing hydrogen gas. This image of the reflection nebula Messier 78 was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. The best time of year to observe M78 is during the winter, when Orion is high in the sky. The cluster lies in the background and is some 2,800 distant. A 9th magnitude open cluster, NGC 2112, can be seen about 1.75 degrees east of the nebula. ![]() 8-inch telescopes begin to show the details of M78. M78 is also visible in 10×50 binoculars as a dim patch, but it requires clear, dark skies to be seen.Ĥ-inch telescopes will sometimes reveal the haze around M78 and also show the nearby reflection nebula NGC 2071 under good conditions. The nebula can easily be seen in large binoculars and small telescopes, which show a hazy, comet-like patch of light with two 10th magnitude stars that illuminate it. M78 is a bit further away from the star than these two. Alnitak has two other prominent nebulae associated with it: the Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula. The nebula is pretty easy to find as it is located only about 2 degrees north and 1.5 degrees east of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion’s Belt. Messier 78 occupies an area of 8 by 6 arc minutes, which corresponds to a linear diameter of about 10 light years. ![]() It has the designation NGC 2068 in the New General Catalogue. It has an apparent magnitude of 8.3 and lies at an approximate distance of 1,600 light years from Earth. M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in the sky. Messier 78 (M78) is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Orion, the Hunter. ![]()
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