Even before Hubble magic, there was the magnificent Horsehead Nebula

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Giuseppe Carmine Iaffaldano; Processing: Roberto Colombari]

horseheadSculpted by stellar winds and radiation, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud by chance has assumed this recognizable shape.

Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is some 1,500 light-years distant, embedded in the vast Orion cloud complex. About five light-years “tall”, the dark cloud is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is visible only because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434.

Stars are forming within the dark cloud. Contrasting blue reflection nebula NGC 2023, surrounding a hot, young star, is at the lower left.

SEE COMPLETE TEXT

You must be logged in to post a comment Login