As gorgeous as it is, there’s more to see in this part of the sky than the Hunter's nebula
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We offer some tricky targets for astronomers in and around Orion
When you take your telescope outside on a frosty, sparkling, clear January night and see the jewelled stars of Orion blazing in the south, it’s tempting to swing it towards the same old targets you always look at in winter, especially the misty grey-green swirls and whorls of the beautiful Orion Nebula (M42), glowing softly in the centre of Orion’s very short sword, hanging from his much more famous belt. That’s understandable; after all it is one of the most stunning deep-sky objects in the whole of the sky. But if you take a deep breath and dare to drag your eyes away from this star-forming region, you’ll find there are other treasures studding the area.
They are challenging to find, but once you’ve seen them with your own eyes you’ll go back to them again and again. This month we’ll show you how to find one of the most famous but elusive nebulae in the whole sky, a star cluster named after a famous female astronomer and a faint nebula very few people have even heard of. So wrap up warm, get yourself settled under a dark sky and get ready to enjoy the sights.
Flame Nebula (NGC 2024)
Caroline's Cluster (NGC 2360)
1Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) Few have actually seen it with their own eyes. You’ll need a very dark sky and 6” or larger telescope to see it as dark ‘notch’ against a faintly glowing cloud of pale gas beneath Alnitak.2Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) Also close to Alnitak, the Flame Nebula is a tenth-magnitude emission nebula that is best seen in 6” or larger scopes. Large-aperture instruments reveal it is cut across by several dark dust lanes.3Messier 78 Magnitude 8.3 M78 is bright enough to be visible in small telescopes, looking like a smudge of light, but because of its proximity to the glorious Orion Nebula it is viewed very rarely.4Lower's Nebula (Sharpless 261) Hiding up near Orion’s border with Gemini this small nebula is tenth magnitude but has a low surface brightness, so you’ll need to use an 8” or larger telescope under a truly dark sky to spot it.5Caroline's Cluster (NGC 2360) A seventh-magnitude open cluster, many say it is prettier than the bigger, brighter M41 star cluster that sits nearby beneath Sirius. Telescopes of 4.5” or bigger show it as a compact spray of bluewhite stars very well.6HD 38858 It’s worth tracking down this magnitude 6.4 star with your telescope just so you can look at it and know you’re looking at a star with a planet orbiting around it. HD 38858b is twice Uranus’ mass and lies in its stars habitable zone.
Messier 78