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Star and Constellation Forecast for March 6th, 2005

Trapezium Cluster

Maritime charts warn sailors of shallow reefs and other hazards to navigation. If we could sail among the stars, we'd need similar charts to point out the danger zones.

One area to avoid is visible in tonight's sky. It's in the heart of the Orion Nebula, a cloud of gas and dust that spans a couple of dozen light-years. A cluster of hot young stars there produces torrents of X-ray and ultraviolet energy -- enough to zap both electronic instruments and their human operators.

The region is known as the Trapezium Cluster.

Its five main stars are about 15 to 30 times as massive as the Sun. Such heavy stars consume the nuclear fuel in their cores at prodigious rates, and produce tremendous amounts of energy.

As a result, the surfaces of these stars are extremely hot, so the stars produce a lot of ultraviolet energy -- enough to cause the entire Orion Nebula to glow, making it visible to the unaided eye across 1500 light-years of space.

Powerful explosions erupt on the surfaces of these stars. The eruptions produce shock waves that flood the nebula with X-rays.

Look for the Orion Nebula this evening. Orion is high in the south at nightfall, and sets after midnight. Its most prominent feature is a short line of three bright stars, known as Orion's Belt. The Orion Nebula is a faint smudge of light below the belt. And if you're ever cruising through the nebula, keep an eye on those charts -- and give the Trapezium a wide berth.

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