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Credit & Copyright: László Francsics
Explanation:
Near the center of this
sharp cosmic portrait, at
the heart of the
Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars
known as
the Trapezium.
Tightly gathered within a region about 1.5 light-years in radius,
they dominate the core of the dense Orion Nebula Star Cluster.
Ultraviolet ionizing radiation from the Trapezium stars,
mostly from the brightest star
Theta-1
Orionis C
powers the complex star forming region's entire visible glow.
About three million years old, the Orion Nebula Cluster was
even more compact in its younger years and a
dynamical study
indicates that
runaway stellar collisions
at an earlier age may have formed a black hole
with more than 100 times the mass of the Sun.
The presence of a black hole within the cluster
could explain the observed high velocities of the Trapezium stars.
The Orion Nebula's distance of some 1,500 light-years
would make it the closest known black hole to planet Earth.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 42 - Orion Nebula - black hole
Publications with words: M 42 - Orion Nebula - black hole
See also:
- APOD: 2025 September 24 Á GW250114: Rotating Black Holes Collide
- APOD: 2025 August 13 Á Trapezium: In the Heart of Orion
- APOD: 2025 May 9 Á IXPE Explores a Black Hole Jet
- APOD: 2025 May 6 Á The Doubly Warped World of Binary Black Holes
- APOD: 2025 May 4 Á Spin up of a Supermassive Black Hole
- APOD: 2025 April 20 Á The Orion Nebula in Visible and Infrared
- APOD: 2024 November 24 Á Journey to the Center of the Galaxy