Orion: Head to Toe . ... Explanation: Cradled in cosmic dust and glowing hydrogen, stellar nurseries in Orion the Hunter lie at the edge of a giant molecular cloud some 1,500 light-years away. ... The Great Orion Nebula , the closest large star forming region, is right of center. ... Sliding your cursor over the picture will also find red giant Betelgeuse at the hunter's shoulder, bright blue Rigel at his foot, and the glowing Lambda Orionis ( Meissa ) nebula at the far left, near Orion's head. ...