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Credit & Copyright: Emmanuel Mallart
Explanation:
Adrift 1,500 light-years away in one of the night sky's
most recognizable
constellations, the glowing
Orion Nebula and the dark
Horsehead Nebula are contrasting
cosmic vistas.
They both appear in this stunning composite color photograph along with
other nebulosities as part
of the giant Orion Molecular
Cloud
complex, itself hundreds of light-years across.
The magnificent
Orion
Nebula (aka M42) lies at the
bottom of the image.
This emission nebula's
bright central regions were
captured on fast film in a relatively short 30 second exposure.
Above M42
are a cluster of prominent bluish
reflection nebulae
and fainter reddish emission nebulae recorded in additional exposures
lasting up to 40 minutes.
The Horsehead
appears as a dark nebula, a small silhouette
notched against the long red glow at the upper left.
Alnitak is the easternmost star in Orion's belt and
is seen as the brightest star above the Horsehead.
Immediately to Alnitak's left is the
Flame Nebula, with clouds of
bright emission and dramatic dark dust lanes.
The telescopic
exposures were made from a site in the Southern French Alps
at an altitude of 2,800 meters (a little closer to the stars!)
in September of 2001.
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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 - M 42 - Horsehead Nebula - emission nebula - reflection nebula - dark nebula
Publications with words: Orion Nebula - M 42 - Horsehead Nebula - emission nebula - reflection nebula - dark nebula
See also: