The Kleinmann–Low Nebula (also known as the Orion KL Nebula) is an active star forming region in the Milky Way galaxy. It is a

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study th ...

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

s within a

molecular cloud A molecular cloud, sometimes called a stellar nursery (if star formation is occurring within), is a type of interstellar cloud, the density and size of which permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydroge ...

.Ferland pp191 The Kleinmann–Low Nebula is at the heart of the

Orion Nebula The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the Orion (constellation), constellation of Orion. It is one of the brightest nebulae and is visible to t ...

, and is the most active star-forming region in it. Because of the thick dust surrounding it, it is observed primarily with

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

light, since visible light cannot pass through it. Hot stellar winds circulate off large, young, stars in Orion's nebula and heat the surrounding gas. This then causes an explosion that has a finger-like intrusion look. It is named after

Douglas Kleinmann Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

and Frank J. Low, who discovered the nebula in 1967. Between 1972 and 1973 a large amount of maps were secured with the Steward and Catalina Observatories telescopes. The luminosity of the Kleinmann–Low Nebula is approximately , or roughly 10⁵ times that of the sun, making the nebula the brightest component of the OMC-1 Complex. The temperature of the dust surrounding the Kleinmann–Low Nebula calculated to be approximately 70 Kelvin. The nebula is estimated to be rather cool at less than 600 Kelvin, yet extremely active when viewed in the

far infrared Far infrared (FIR) is a region in the infrared spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Far infrared is often defined as any radiation with a wavelength of 15 micrometers (μm) to 1 mm (corresponding to a range of about 20 THz to ...

range. Inside of the nebula, the brightest object observed is the Becklin-Neugebauer Object. The Kleinmann-Low nebula is rich in the molecules HCOOCH₃, CH₃OCH₃ and deuterated methanol, and abundant with nascent stars and planetary systems.

References

Bibliography

* Ferland G. J. Osterbrock Donald E. (2005) ''Astrophysics of gaseous nebulae and active galactic nuclei'' University Science Books {{DEFAULTSORT:KleinmannLow Nebula Dark nebulae Orion molecular cloud complex