Trapezium Cluster

The Trapezium Cluster is a compact, young stellar group at the center of the Orion Nebula, dominated visually by four bright stars known as the Trapezium asterism.

Theta Orionis: Theta Orionis is a multiple-star system in the Orion Nebula, including the four bright stars of the Trapezium asterism. The cluster’s familiar four-star pattern is formed by the Theta Orionis system.
Photoevaporation: Photoevaporation is the loss of gas from a surface or disk when radiation heats it enough to escape. Ultraviolet light from massive cluster stars strips gas from nearby protoplanetary disks.
Star formation: Star formation is the process by which dense regions of gas and dust collapse to form stars. The cluster is a young product of star formation within Orion’s molecular clouds.
Hubble Space Telescope: The Hubble Space Telescope is a space observatory that observes astronomical objects across ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths. Hubble images resolved protoplanetary disks and fine nebular structure around the Trapezium.
Theta1 Orionis C: Theta1 Orionis C is a massive binary star and the brightest member of the Trapezium Cluster. Its radiation is a major source of the Orion Nebula’s ionization.
Orion Nebula: The Orion Nebula is a nearby region of ionized gas and active star formation in the constellation Orion. The cluster lies at the nebula’s center, embedded in its star-forming environment.
Stellar wind: A stellar wind is a continuous outflow of charged particles from a star’s atmosphere. Winds from massive members help clear and compress gas around the young cluster.
Orion Nebula Cluster: The Orion Nebula Cluster is a dense population of young stars associated with the Orion Nebula. It is the wider stellar population in which the compact Trapezium group is embedded.
Infrared astronomy: Infrared astronomy studies celestial objects through their emission or absorption of infrared radiation. Infrared observations reveal stars and disks hidden by Orion’s dust.
Theta1 Orionis A: Theta1 Orionis A is a multiple-star system and one of the four bright stars in the Trapezium asterism. It illustrates that a visually single Trapezium point can contain multiple stars.

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