Until the beginning of the modern era, history is surprisingly silent about the Great Nebula in Orion. Despite the fact that under good conditions the nebula can be seen with the naked eye, it is not mentioned in ancient or medieval records. It first appeared in scientific literature in the early 1600s; Christian Huygens, the great Dutch physicist, astronomer, and mathematician, was the first to describe it in detail. Sir William Herschel observed the Great Nebula in 1774 and was so impressed with its beauty that he made the study of it and similar objects one of his lifeΓÇÖs works. Beginning in 1825 HerschelΓÇÖs son, John, also observed the nebula, providing some of the first comprehensive descriptions of this amazingly complex object.
