The Flame and Horsehead (Gabe Shaughnessy)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Orion (Ori) · Contains: 50 zet Ori · Alnitak · B33 · Horsehead nebula · IC 431 · IC 432 · IC 434 · IC 435 · NGC 2023 · NGC 2024 · Orion · Sh2-277 · The star Alnitak (ζOri) · VdB51

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The Flame and Horsehead

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The Flame and Horsehead

The Flame and Horsehead nebulae lie in the constellation Orion some 1500 light years away. The Flame nebula is near Alnitak, the easternmost star in Orion's belt, and is the brightest star in this image. Alnitak shines intense UV light into the Flame nebula, which excites the hydrogen gas clouds, producing the glow. Veins of dark dust and gas lie in front of the nebula giving the nebula an appearance of a flame.

The Horsehead nebula is a dark nebula of gas and dust that is silhouetted against the background H-alpha emission nebula. The glowing gas is energized by nearby star Sigma Orionis. Strong magnetic fields form streams of ionized Hydrogen gas that are visible above the Horsehead.

Both the Flame and Horsehead are a small part of a larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, which stretches from north of the belt of Orion to the sword near the Great Orion Nebula. This complex is a gigantic stellar nursery and is several hundred light years across.

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Milwaukee Astronomical Society

Nebulae

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	1927202
PixInsight job	XESL1TE276DMOW5Y4CFQ7N479IEMBV6A
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	05h41m04s.14
RA (top/left)	05h38m27s.75
RA (top/right)	05h39m03s.59
RA (bottom/right)	05h43m40s.66
RA (bottom/left)	05h43m04s.55

Dec (center)	-02°09′46″.1
Dec (top/left)	-01°26′19″.2
Dec (top/right)	-02°59′49″.9
Dec (bottom/right)	-02°53′10″.9
Dec (bottom/left)	-01°19′41″.7

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The Flame and Horsehead

The Flame and Horsehead

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The Flame and Horsehead

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