We present images of a 90 " x 90 " field centered on the Becklin-Neugebauer
object (BN) in OMC-1, taken with the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject
Spectrometer (NICMOS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The observed lines
are H-2 1-0 S(1), Pa alpha, [Fe II] 1.64 mu m, and the adjacent continua.
The region is rich in interesting structures. The most remarkable are strea
mers of H-2 emission that extend from 15 " to 50 " from IRc2, seen here in
unprecedented detail. Unlike the northern H-2 "fingers," these inner struct
ures do not exhibit significant [Fe II] emission at their tips, which we su
ggest is due to lower excitation. These observations also show that the mor
phological details of the Pa alpha and [Fe II] emission (both imaged for th
e first time in this region) bear a striking resemblance to that of the H a
lpha and [S II] emission previously observed with WFPC2. This implies that
these IR and optical lines are produced by radiative excitation on the surf
ace of the molecular cloud. The Pa alpha morphology of III-I 202 is also ve
ry similar to its H alpha and [O III] emission, again suggesting that the e
xtended Pa alpha emission in this object is photoexcited by the Trapezium,
as has been suggested for the optical emission. We find evidence of shock-e
xcited [Fe II] in HH 208, where it again closely follows the morphology of
[S II]. There is also H-2 coincident with the [S II] and [Fe II] emission,
which may be associated with HH 208. Finally, we note some interesting cont
inuum features: diffuse "tails" trailing from IRc3 and IRc4, more extensive
observations of the "crescent" found by Stolovy et al., and new observatio
ns of a similar oval object nearby. We also find a V-shaped region that may
be the boundary of a cavity being cleared by IRc2.