The Orion Nebula is truly one of the most breathtaking objects to view in the night sky, and a personal favourite of mine. Located some 1200 light years away from the Earth, it is the nearest region of massive star formation. It shines so brightly that even from light polluted places, it can still be seen with the naked eye as the fuzzy central "star" in the sword of Orion. The dazzling colours of the nebula originate from ionised gases such as hydrogen and sulfur which glow red, as well as ionised oxygen which glows green-blue. The bright blue colours come from the reflection of starlight off the molecular clouds.