Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of M42. 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 iimage 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.

Official Chandra/Nasa Press Release

The Orion Nebula Cluster, the Trapezium, shown in X-rays.

Overlay of optical (HST) and X-ray (Chandra) images of the Trapezium.

Nasa/Chandra official press release (Nov 9, 2000).

These Chandra images show the central region of the Orion Nebula. Assembled into a time-lapse movie, these observations show that, over the course of mere hours, many of the 700 objects in the field appear to "shimmer" or vary, in X-ray intensity. This flaring behavior appears to be a common characteristic of young stars. Since the sun formed in a similar region long ago, this discovery may help us better understand how our solar system formed.

More Chandra images

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Hartmut Frommert (spider@seds.org)
Christine Kronberg (smil@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)

Last Modification: 1 Sep 2001, 11:00 MET