Changes

The nebula was probably known to ancient people as it is visible to the naked eye, the Maya had a folk tale which dealt with the region of the sky with Orion<ref>http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/skyandtelescope/access/886319051.html?dids=886319051:886319051&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:PAGE&date=Feb+1999&author=E+C+Krupp&desc=Igniting+the+Hearth</ref>. Ptolemy did include it in the ''Almagest'' (Great Book), Tycho Brahe also made note of the object in the late 16th century, but neither seemed to recognize it as a nebula.

The nebula was probably known to ancient people as it is visible to the naked eye, the Maya had a folk tale which dealt with the region of the sky with Orion<ref>http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/skyandtelescope/access/886319051.html?dids=886319051:886319051&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:PAGE&date=Feb+1999&author=E+C+Krupp&desc=Igniting+the+Hearth</ref>. Ptolemy did include it in the ''Almagest'' (Great Book), Tycho Brahe also made note of the object in the late 16th century, but neither seemed to recognize it as a nebula.

Credit for discovering the nebula is given to '''Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc''' who in 1610 first recorded of a cloudy nebulosity in the [[Orion]] constellation.  [[Jesuit]] astronomer '''Johann Baptist Cysatus''' independently found the nebula in 1611 and published a note about it seven years later<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.  It was independently rediscovered by [[Christiaan Huygens]] in 1656, who is often created for it's discovery.  The designation M42 was given to the nebula by [[Charles Messier]], who recorded it in  the first edition of his catalog of deep sky objects in 1774 (completed in 1771)<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.  The nebula is also known as the first deep sky observation by [[William Herschel]] with his new self-constructed reflecting telescope in 1774<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.

Credit for discovering the nebula is given to '''Nicholas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc''' who in 1610 first recorded of a cloudy nebulosity in the [[Orion]] constellation.  [[Jesuit]] astronomer '''Johann Baptist Cysatus''' independently found the nebula in 1611 and published a note about it seven years later<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.  It was independently rediscovered by [[Christiaan Huygens]] in 1656, who is often created for its discovery.  The designation M42 was given to the nebula by [[Charles Messier]], who recorded it in  the first edition of his catalog of deep sky objects in 1774 (completed in 1771)<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.  The nebula is also known as the first deep sky observation by [[William Herschel]] with his new self-constructed reflecting telescope in 1774<ref name="history">http://messier.obspm.fr/Mdes/dm042.html</ref>.

The gaseous nature of the Orion Nebula was identified in 1865 by [[William Huggins]] with the help of spectroscopy. On September 30, 1880, the Orion Nebula became the first nebula to have a successful photograph taken by it, by Henry Draper, who later obtained a second more detailed photograph of the Orion Nebula.  In 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope first looked to the Orion Nebula, and in 2005 recorded the most detailed imagery of the nebula yet, photographing over 3,000 stars contained within<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AAS...20714601R</ref>.

The gaseous nature of the Orion Nebula was identified in 1865 by [[William Huggins]] with the help of spectroscopy. On September 30, 1880, the Orion Nebula became the first nebula to have a successful photograph taken by it, by Henry Draper, who later obtained a second more detailed photograph of the Orion Nebula.  In 1993, the Hubble Space Telescope first looked to the Orion Nebula, and in 2005 recorded the most detailed imagery of the nebula yet, photographing over 3,000 stars contained within<ref>http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AAS...20714601R</ref>.