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Credit & Copyright: Wissam Ayoub
Explanation:
The Horsehead
Nebula is one of the most famous nebulae on the sky.
It is visible as the dark indentation to the orange
emission nebula
at the far right of the
featured picture.
The horse-head
feature is dark because it is really an opaque
dust cloud that lies in
front of the bright
emission nebula.
Like clouds in
Earth's atmosphere, this cosmic cloud has assumed a
recognizable shape by chance.
After
many thousands of years, the internal motions of the cloud
will surely alter its appearance.
The emission nebula's orange color is caused by
electrons recombining with
protons to form
hydrogen atoms.
Toward the lower left of the image is the
Flame Nebula,
an orange-tinged nebula that also contains intricate
filaments of dark dust.
Two prominent
reflection nebulas
are visible: round
IC 432 on the far left, and
blue
NGC 2023 just to the lower left of the Horsehead nebula.
Each glows primarily by
reflecting the light of their central star.
Discovery + Outreach:
Graduate student research position open for APOD
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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
Publications with words: Flame nebula
See also: