From the Messier Catalogue by Charles Messier from deep-sky objects complied through the late 1700s up until his death in 1817.

• M42: A little history from NASA
• The Orion Nebula: Significant as Earth’s closest, most active stellar nursery, offering an unparalleled, visible-to-the-naked-eye view of star and planet formation in action, revealing protoplanetary disks and insights into how our own Sun and solar system formed. It’s a massive cloud of gas and dust where thousands of young stars are born, making it crucial for understanding stellar birth, evolution, and the prevalence of planetary systems in the Milky Way.  At only about 1,350 light-years away, it’s the nearest large star-forming region, allowing detailed study. It’s a vibrant “cosmic hearth” where new stars ignite, showing the full process from collapsing gas clouds to newborn stars. JWST, Hubble and other telescopes have found numerous protoplanetary disks (dusty rings) around young stars, showing planets form alongside stars.  It reveals turbulent gas, powerful radiation from massive stars, and the creation of water molecules in huge quantities, making it a natural laboratory. Its brightness and location below Orion’s Belt made it visible to the naked eye, captivating ancient civilizations like the Maya. 
• Charles Messier (bio by NASA, 1730–1817): French astronomer best known for his “Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters.” He used a 100 mm (four-inch) refracting telescope as chief astronomer of the Marine Observatory in Paris (Hôtel de Cluny, now the Musée national du Moyen Âge).
• Messier Catalogue Started in 1753 by Messier, it continues to be updated.
• Sky-map.org
• Photographer: Arnaud Mariat