Orion Nebula, WISE infrared image. The Orion Nebula is an vast cloud of dust and gas where new stars are being formed. It is located around 1500 light years from Earth, in the constellation of Orion. This view spans more than six times the width of the full Moon, covering a region nearly 100 light-years across. The infrared wavelengths are colour-coded: blue (3.4 microns) and blue-green (4.6 microns) mainly show hot stars. Relatively cooler objects, such as the dust of the nebulae, appear green and red (12 microns and 22 microns respectively). This image, published in 2013, was obtained by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE).