Trapezium

The group of bright stars at the center of this image is the Trapezium Cluster, which lies at the edge of the Great Nebula in Orion. The Orion Nebula is one of the closest major star-forming regions to the Solar System, located at a distance of about 450 parsecs (1500 light years) in the direction of the Galactic Rim. The Trapezium is one small section of the larger nebula, comprising the most active region of star formation. Although it is best known for its 4 brightest star systems, which seem to form a distorted trapezoid from the perspective of the Solar System, the Trapezium actually contains about 700 newborn stars, each about 1 million years old. They are packed into a volume of space about one light year (0.3 parsecs) in diameter (Lada & Lada 2003). See also Theta Orionis: The Trapezium, by Jerry Lodigruss.