Orion Nebula (M42) Observation Details
M42 Daily Motion
M42 will rise at 23:52, during twilight, and will ascend to 40° by the time twilight ends at 03:45.M42 will be visible until April, 10, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.
M42 Visibility Timetable on September 07
M42 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| Moon Rise, 99.4% illuminated | 17:06 | -57° |
| Astrosession begin | 18:58 | -53° |
| M42 rise | 23:52 | |
| Astrosession end | 03:13 | 36° |
| Civil sunrise | 04:17 | 44° |
| Moon Set | 04:34 | 45° |
| Sunrise | 04:44 | 46° |
| M42 transit | 05:35 | 47° |
Track M42 Position Throughout the Night
← Sun, 7 September 2025 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
Where is M42 right now?
M42 is located in the constellation Orion, at right ascension 05h 35m 16s" and declination -5° 23' 22s. Although it is currently above the horizon at an altitude of 17 degrees, M42 is not visible because it is daytime.M42 - Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula (M42) is a diffuse nebula located in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc in 1610 and later cataloged by Charles Messier in 1769. M42 is one of the brightest nebulae in the sky and can be seen with the naked eye.
M42 spans about 24 light-years across and contains a rich population of young stars, including the Trapezium, a group of four massive stars. The nebula is approximately 1,344 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 4.0, making it a popular target for amateur astronomers.
M42 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).
Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.
Finder Chart for M42
| Object name | M42 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M42 coordinates | 5.58791, -5.38967 |
| Center coordinates | 5.58791, -5.38967 |
M42 Passage Through Night
Current position of M42
| Time | 09:51 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M42 elevation | 17° |
| M42 Azimuth | 111° |
Annual motion of M42
| Date | Sun, 7 September 2025 |
| Twighlight start | 18:53 |
| Twighlight end | 03:07 |
| Twighlight duration | 8h 13m |
| Rise | 23:52 |
| Set | 11:17 |
| Elevation at transit | 47° |
| Transit time | 05:35 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 05h 35m 16s", Dec: -5° 23' 22s |
| Magnitude | 4 |
| Constellation | Orion |
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M42 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.
Astrometric & Physical Parameters of M42
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 5.58791° |
| Declination | -5.38967° |
| Magnitude | 4.00 |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Elevation | 17.4° |
| Azimuth | 111.3° |
Data Credits
The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.
For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.