At only 1,344 light-years away, the Orion Nebula is the closest large star-forming region to Earth and one of the most studied objects in the sky. The four hot young stars at its heart — the Trapezium cluster — were born roughly 300,000 years ago and their ultraviolet radiation sculpts the surrounding gas into glowing curtains and pillars. On a clear night it is just visible to the naked eye as the fuzzy middle ‘star’ in Orion’s sword.