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Credit & Copyright: Team ARO
Explanation:
What lights up the Flame Nebula?
Fifteen hundred
light years away towards the
constellation of
Orion lies a nebula which, from its glow and dark
dust lanes,
appears, on the left, like a billowing fire.
But fire,
the rapid acquisition of
oxygen,
is not what makes this
Flame glow.
Rather the bright star Alnitak, the easternmost star
in the
Belt of Orion
visible on the far left, shines energetic light into the
Flame that knocks electrons away from the great clouds of
hydrogen
gas that reside there.
Much of the glow results when the electrons and
ionized hydrogen recombine.
The featured picture of the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) was taken across three
visible color
bands
with detail added by a
long duration exposure taken in
light emitted only by hydrogen.
The Flame Nebula is part of the
Orion Molecular Cloud Complex,
a star-forming region that includes the famous
Horsehead Nebula.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: Flame nebula - Orion
Publications with words: Flame nebula - Orion
See also: