How to View the Orion Nebula With Binoculars

The Orion Nebula, also referred to as the Great Orion Nebula or Great Nebula of Orion, is one of the brightest nebula as seen from Earth and is easily visible to the naked eye. A nebula is a gaseous cloud in space that will one day form into a star or is the remains of a start that is extinct. The Orion Nebula has been photographed countless times over the years and has been studied to no end. If you have a good pair of binoculars, here is how you can get a great look at the Orion Nebula.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Binoculars
• Lawn chair or blanket
• Flashlight

How to View the Orion Nebula With Binoculars

1. Orion is visible all over the world since it lies on the celestial equator, an imaginary line that extends out from the Earth's own equator and into the heavens. It can be seen in the mid-northern latitudes such as 40 degrees north best in the winter months, anytime after 8PM. Face southeast and look up to find the constellation Orion the Hunter. Orion is the most easily identified star group in the sky except for perhaps the Big Dipper in Ursa Major. It consists of several brights stars and the main body of Orion is a rectangle with bright stars in opposite corners along with a three star "belt" across the "waist" of the hunter.

2. Once you have found Orion, look at his "belt." The three stars that compose it are bright enough to not be mistaken as anything else. When you have found the "belt," look down from the middle star. There will be three stars that seem to be hanging from the "belt" in such a way that it seems to form a "sword."

3. Observe the "sword" of Orion closely. The three stars are not bright by the standards of the rest of this sparkling constellation but can be seen without difficulty, even when it is not totally dark outside. The middle star of the belt is not a star at all but the Orion Nebula.

4. Raise your binoculars and focus them on the "belt and sword" region of Orion. Make sure that your eyes have become adjusted to the darkness and that the binoculars have no smudges on the lenses. First find the three stars that comprise the "belt" and then look down from the middle star.

5. Slowly sweep down with your binoculars until you find the middle "star" of the "sword." It will not appear as a disc of light such as the other stars do but as a hazy patch much larger than a small point of light. This is the Orion Nebula. Once you have found it you will be able to show it to your family and friends without any difficultly. Realize that with binoculars it will not look at all as spectacular as the deep space photographs that depict it, but it is still a great sight to behold.