Sh2-254, 255, 256, 257, and 258

This group of Sharpless objects forms a complex that typically goes by the Sh2-254 designation because it’s the largest of the bunch. All these objects are about 8,000 light years away in the Orion constellation near its border with the Gemini constellation.

Although not a particularly compelling target visually, the Sh2-254 complex houses prolific star formation. It’s also a bit unusual in that eleven masers have been detected in it. Masers are the microwave equivalent of lasers—natural sources of amplified, coherent microwave radiation. Masers are useful in the study of the chemical composition of these types of emission regions as well as the study of how stars form.