M42

From Fresh Dictionary

Contents 1 Translingual 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Abbreviation 1.3 Synonyms 1.4 See also

Translingual

Etymology

From Charles Messier, who first published Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1774 as a listing of visible objects in the night sky that were not stars. Objects in Messier's catalog are numbered, and the letter M (for Messier) is prepended to these numbers.

Abbreviation

M42

1. (astronomy): The Orion Nebula; a diffuse nebula located at a distance of approximately 1600 light years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Orion.

Synonyms

• Orion Nebula
• NGC 1976

See also

• Wikipedia article on the Orion Nebula
• Wikipedia article on the Messier objects