Intense Diffuse Far-UV Emission from the Orion Nebula

We present spectra of the diffuse FUV (900 – 1200 Å) emission from a region near the Orion Nebula: the first high resolution spectra of the diffuse background radiation. These observations were made using serendipitous FUSE observations and were only possible because of the strength of the diffuse emission (≈ 3× 10 photons cm sr s Å) and the sensitivity of the FUSE instrument. Preliminary modeling suggests that the light is scattered starlight from the Trapezium stars, primarily θ Ori C. However, a comparison of the spectra with nearby stars shows significant differences in the presence and strength of the absorption lines, particularly in the Ly β line where there is much less interstellar absorption in our diffuse spectrum. We believe that we are indeed observing scattered light from the Trapezium stars but through a line of sight with much less matter than the direct line to the stars. Subject headings: ISM: general, ISM: individual M42, ultraviolet: ISM