Orion Nebula

Orion is my favourite constellation, because it's outline is so striking in the sky, and easily recognised anywhere. Its Nebula is the closest to Earth and has given us some of the most spectacular images of space. The image below has just been released by NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.


It shows the nebula in a riot of infrared, ultraviolet and visible light colours - described by the JPL as "painted by hundreds of baby stars on a canvas of gas and dust, with intense ultraviolet light and strong stellar winds as brushes"... elaborate analogies aside, it's a really striking image.