 the orion nebula (also known as messier 42, m42, or ngc 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the milky way south of orion's belt in the constellation of orion. it is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. m42 is located at a distance of   {{cite journal | last1=hirota | first1=tomoya | last2=bushimata | first2=takeshi | last3=choi | first3=yoon kyung | last4=honma | first4=mareki | last5=imai | first5=hiroshi | last6=iwadate | first6=kenzaburo | last7=jike | first7=takaaki | 
Astronomical_objects_known_since_antiquity Diffuse_nebulae H_II_regions Messier_objects NGC_objects Objects_within_10_kly_of_Earth Orion_Molecular_Cloud_Complex OrionaCygnus_Arm