NGC 1981 is an open star cluster located in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by the astronomer William Herschel in 1786 and is situated near the famous Orion Nebula. The cluster contains several bright stars and is approximately 1,500 light-years away from Earth. This cluster is notable for its young, hot stars, which are primarily of spectral types O and B. NGC 1981 is part of a larger region of star formation in Orion and is often studied to understand stellar evolution and the dynamics of star clusters.