Orion Nebula detail

ESO Press Photo eso0104d shows a small section of the observational data (in one infrared spectral band only, here reproduced in B/W) on which ESO Press Photo eso0104a is based. The field is centred on one of the famous Orion silhouette disks (Orion 114-426) (it is located approximately halfway between the centre and the right edge of ESO Press Photo eso0104c ). The dusty disk itself is seen edge-on as a dark streak against the background emission of the Orion Nebula, while the bright fuzzy patches on either side betray the presence of the embedded parent star that illuminates tenuous collections of dust above its north and south poles to create these small reflection nebulae. Recent HST studies suggest that the very young Orion 114-426 disk — that is thirty times bigger than our present-day Solar System — may already be showing signs of forming its own proto-planetary system.