🔭 M78

Diffuse nebula in Orion

M78 is a diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion, with an apparent magnitude of about 8.3, roughly 1.6 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M78
Object type	Diffuse nebula
Constellation	Orion
NGC / IC	NGC 2068
Apparent magnitude	8.3
Distance (approx.)	1.6 thousand light-years

What a diffuse nebula is

An interstellar cloud of gas and dust — glowing where hot young stars energise it (emission), reflecting nearby starlight, or silhouetted against brighter clouds.

Other Messier objects in Orion: M42, M43.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.