Image via R. Villaverde/ Hubble Legacy Archive/NASA

No, this picture is not an abstract painting hanging in one of the greatest museums, but rather a composite image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. This stunning photo of the Orion Nebula can certainly be considered as one of the most spectacular works of art the Universe has to offer.

The Orion Nebula – located in the constellation of the same name – is perhaps the most well-known of all nebulae. This immense area of the night sky – also known as M42 – is located about 1300 light-years away from Earth and includes many star-formation regions, as well as a very bright open cluster known as the Trapezium. The area pictured here spans approximately 40 light-years and is located in the same part of the galaxy as our Sun.

You can view a high-resolution image here. This APOD originally appeared on our French site and you can view it here. (Written and translated by Valerie Langlois).


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