Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
The famous Horsehead
Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark
familiar shaped indentation,
visible just below center, is part of a vast
complex of absorbing dust and glowing
gas.
To bring out details of
the Horsehead's
pasture, amateur astronomers at the Star
Shadow Remote Observatory in New
Mexico, USA fixed
a small telescope on the region for over seven hours filtering out all but
a very specific color of red light emitted by hydrogen.
They then added the
image to a full color frame taken over three hours. The resulting spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous
wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas.
The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion. Two stars from the Orion's
Belt can be found in
the image.
Image Credit &
Copyright: Star
Shadows Remote Observatory