The Orion Nebula, the closest major star formation region to Earth, is about 1,500 light years away.

Hundreds of stars are either forming or in the early stages of their development in this nebula, and some stars have planetary systems forming around them!

The Orion Nebula is a highly dynamic region and is frequently studied by both the Hubble Telescope and amateur astronomers. This #HubbleClassic image shows a mosaic of 15 different frames taken with the telescope.

Image description:

A huge region of glowing gas and dust fills the image, shining brightest in the center in shades of green, brown and orange. Some pink stars are also visible. Darker brown dust surrounds this bright central region.

Image credits:

NASA, ESA, C.R. O'Dell (Rice University) and S.K. Wong (Rice University)