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Messier 43

Separated from the Orion Nebula (M42) by only a dark lane of dust, M43 was recognized as a distinct nebula by the French astronomer Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan in 1731. A massive star is illuminating M43 and sculpting its landscape of dust and gas with its radiation. Astronomers call the area a miniature Orion Nebula because of its small size and the single star that is shaping it. The Orion Nebula itself is much larger and has four hefty stars that are carving the dust-and-gas terrain.

Located 1,600 light-years from Earth, M43 has an apparent magnitude of 9. It can be spotted through a small telescope and is best observed during January.

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I have analyzed the spectrum of this HII ionized region. In this graph I have looked at which were the highest peaks, to identify what element it is made of. Then I have calculated the area of ​​each peak with respect to the total and these are my results.

To show that these are the correct elements I will attach some photos. To find what each element is, I have used the following web page: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hyde.html#c4

           HYDROGEN                             CHROME                                       NICKEL                                         ZINC

I have searched scientific articles and according to S. Simón-Díaz et al, 2011 this HII ionized region contains hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur. These results do not match mine.