Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Orion (Ori)  ·  Contains:  42 Ori)  ·  46 Ori)  ·  48 Ori  ·  50 Ori)  ·  Flame Nebula  ·  IC 423  ·  IC 426  ·  IC 431  ·  IC 432  ·  IC 434  ·  M 78  ·  NGC 1973  ·  NGC 1975  ·  NGC 1977  ·  NGC 1981  ·  NGC 2023  ·  NGC 2024  ·  NGC 2064  ·  NGC 2067  ·  NGC 2068  ·  Orion B  ·  Part of the constellation Orion (Ori)  ·  The star 45 Ori  ·  The star Alnilam (ε Ori  ·  The star Alnitak (ζ Ori  ·  The star Mizan Batil I (c Ori  ·  The star σ Ori  ·  Upper Sword  ·  the Running Man Nebula
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The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha, Hap Griffin
The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha
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The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha

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The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha, Hap Griffin
The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha
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The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha

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When you think that space is "empty", take a look at it through a filter that passes only the light of glowing hydrogen. Hydrogen is the only primordial element, and the most abundant one...all other elements are synthesized from it within the cores of stars, and strewn back into the cosmos when the larger ones end their lives in colossal explosions.

Here we see the area surrounding the famous "Horsehead Nebula" in the constellation of Orion. The Horsehead itself (known as B33) is a protuberance of a dark dust cloud in front of a huge curtain of glowing hydrogen known as IC-434. The complex extends over even a much larger area than the field of view in this image. Look closely and you can see the folds and ridges caused by gravitational and magnetic fields.

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The Horsehead Nebula in Orion in Hydrogen Alpha, Hap Griffin