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Credit & Copyright: Roberto Colombari & Federico Pelliccia
Explanation:
The dark Horsehead Nebula and the glowing
Orion Nebula are contrasting cosmic vistas.
Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of
the night sky's
most recognizable
constellations,
they appear in opposite corners of the above
stunning mosaic.
The familiar Horsehead
nebula appears as a dark cloud, a
small silhouette
notched against the long red glow at the lower left.
Alnitak is the easternmost star in
Orion's belt and is seen as the brightest
star to the left of the
Horsehead.
Below Alnitak is the
Flame Nebula, with clouds of
bright emission and
dramatic dark dust lanes.
The magnificent emission region, the
Orion Nebula (aka M42), lies at the upper right.
Immediately to its left is a prominent
reflection nebula sometimes called the Running Man.
Pervasive tendrils
of glowing hydrogen gas are easily
traced
throughout the region.
Astrophysicists:
Browse 2,500+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Orion Nebula - Horsehead Nebula
Publications with words: Orion Nebula - Horsehead Nebula
See also: