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Orion Nebula Fly-Through

This animation reveals the topography and beauty of the Orion Nebula like never before. Based on data obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope, all of the gas clouds, stars and proplyds are positioned as accurately as possible. The animation ends with a close-up examination of the proplyd HST-10, where astronomers see dust grains clumping in the early formation of rocky planets, but whose gaseous envelope is also being burned away by the Trapezium stars in the nebula's center.

The model is based on data by C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), and The American Museum of Natural History/Rose Center for Earth and Space.

  • Release Date
    April 26, 2001
  • Science Release
    ‘Survivor’ Planets: Astronomers Witness First Steps of Planet Growth – and Destruction
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Animation: Greg Bacon (STScI); Acknowledgement: C.R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), and The American Museum of Natural History/Rose Center for Earth and Space

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    mp4 (2.62 MB)

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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