NGC 1977, the Running Man Nebula, is a reflection nebula embedded in the larger H II region Sharpless 279 (Sh2-279). It lies 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Orion. The nebula is part of the asterism known as Orion’s Sword, along with its brighter and larger neighbour, the Orion Nebula (M42).
The whole Running Man Nebula is believed to be illuminated and excited by 42 Orionis, a hot young stellar object located within the nebula. 42 Orionis has the stellar classification B1V and is also catalogued as c Orionis and HD 37018.
The star has a mass 12 times that of the Sun and a surface temperature of 25,400 K. It is in fact a triple star system. The primary component has two companions. One is a close spectroscopic companion at a separation of only 0.16 arcseconds and the other is a magnitude 7.5 star separated by 1.6 arcseconds from the primary. The system shines at magnitude 4.59. The nebula is home to other massive young stars, including 45 Orionis, a yellow giant or subgiant, and the variable B-type star KX Orionis.
The star-forming region Sh2-279 consists of the reflection nebulae NGC 1973, NGC 1975, and NGC 1977, and the open cluster NGC 1981. NGC 1977 is the brightest and largest nebula in Sh2-279. It has a radius of 7.5 light-years. The nebula NGC 1975 has a radius of 2 light-years, and NGC 1973 is the smallest of the three nebulae with a radius of 1 light-year. The nebulae are separated by darker lanes of dust that form the figure of the running man in the sky.
Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2012 revealed a candidate proplyd (ionized protoplanetary disk) in the nebula NGC 1977. The proplyd had a bent protostellar jet and a possible ionization front facing 42 Orionis. Proplyds are photoevaporating protoplanetary disks found around very young stars. Almost 180 of these objects have been detected in the Orion Nebula, the nearest region of massive star formation to the Sun.
NGC 1977, Running Man Nebula
Photographed with the RC 8″ reflector telescope and the ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Stuvsta, February 13th, 2025. Exposure was 22 * 3 min with IDAS GNB narrowband filter.
NGC 1977, Running Man Nebula
NGC 1977, the Running Man Nebula, is a reflection nebula embedded in the larger H II region Sharpless 279 (Sh2-279). It lies 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Orion. The nebula is part of the asterism known as Orion’s Sword, along with its brighter and larger neighbour, the Orion Nebula (M42).
The whole Running Man Nebula is believed to be illuminated and excited by 42 Orionis, a hot young stellar object located within the nebula. 42 Orionis has the stellar classification B1V and is also catalogued as c Orionis and HD 37018.
The star has a mass 12 times that of the Sun and a surface temperature of 25,400 K. It is in fact a triple star system. The primary component has two companions. One is a close spectroscopic companion at a separation of only 0.16 arcseconds and the other is a magnitude 7.5 star separated by 1.6 arcseconds from the primary. The system shines at magnitude 4.59. The nebula is home to other massive young stars, including 45 Orionis, a yellow giant or subgiant, and the variable B-type star KX Orionis.
The star-forming region Sh2-279 consists of the reflection nebulae NGC 1973, NGC 1975, and NGC 1977, and the open cluster NGC 1981. NGC 1977 is the brightest and largest nebula in Sh2-279. It has a radius of 7.5 light-years. The nebula NGC 1975 has a radius of 2 light-years, and NGC 1973 is the smallest of the three nebulae with a radius of 1 light-year. The nebulae are separated by darker lanes of dust that form the figure of the running man in the sky.
Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2012 revealed a candidate proplyd (ionized protoplanetary disk) in the nebula NGC 1977. The proplyd had a bent protostellar jet and a possible ionization front facing 42 Orionis. Proplyds are photoevaporating protoplanetary disks found around very young stars. Almost 180 of these objects have been detected in the Orion Nebula, the nearest region of massive star formation to the Sun.
Photographed with the RC 8″ reflector telescope and the ASI 2600MC color CMOS camera in Stuvsta, February 13th, 2025. Exposure was 22 * 3 min with IDAS GNB narrowband filter.
