Horsehead and Flame Nebulae (Jared Willson)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Orion (Ori) · Contains: 48 sig Ori · 50 zet Ori · Alnitak · B33 · Flame Nebula · Horsehead nebula · IC 431 · IC 432 · IC 434 · IC 435 · LBN 944 · LBN 946 · LBN 953 · LBN 954 · NGC 2023 · NGC 2024 · Orion · Orion B · Sh2-277 · The star Alnitak (ζOri) · The star σOri · VdB51

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Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

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Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

The Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion. It is a silhouette resembling a horse's head formed by gas and dust obscuring a background HII emission nebula, IC434. It is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, one of the richest star forming areas of the Milky Way. The Horsehead lies at a distance of roughly 422 parsecs (1,375 light years) and has become one of the most iconic structures in astrophotography. The nebula was first recorded by Willamina Flemming in 1888 on a photographic plate taken at Harvard College Observatory, and Flemming is generally credited with its discovery though the nebula may have been observed visually as early as 1811 by William Herschel.

The Flame Nebula (SH2-277), located on the left of this image, is an emission nebula formed from ionized hydrogen gas. It lies at approximately the same distance as the Horsehead, though the exact distance is not really known. The cloud of glowing hydrogen throughout this image is being bombarded with ultraviolet light from the hot, young star Alnitak (center left of the image). The ultraviolet light ionizes the atomic hydrogen--knocking electrons off their parent nuclei. As the electrons drop back onto the nuclei, specifically as the electrons fall from the n=3 to n=2 shell, they emit light in the deep red portion of the visible spectrum at a wavelength of 656 nanometers. This so-called "hydrogen alpha" line, part of the Balmer series of hydrogen lines, is very prominent in astrophotography since many objects are made primarily of hydrogen gas and shine brightly at this wavelength. The Flame Nebula is heavily obscured by dust, creating the shadowy structure and orange color of the flame.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	5297882
PixInsight job	5KWPKXKVAI2C5C676KIIJF9V6CXR4GOC
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	TASK_LOG

RA (center)	05h40m57s.98
RA (top/left)	05h38m30s.14
RA (top/right)	05h38m38s.64
RA (bottom/right)	05h43m26s.30
RA (bottom/left)	05h43m17s.60

Dec (center)	-02°12′57″.2
Dec (top/left)	-01°19′27″.6
Dec (top/right)	-03°07′52″.3
Dec (bottom/right)	-03°06′25″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	-01°18′01″.2

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Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

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Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

Horsehead and Flame Nebulae

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