Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light (Steve Robbins)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Orion (Ori) · Contains: Flame Nebula · IC 434 · Orion B

Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light, Steve Robbins

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Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

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Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

When pursuing a close up of the Horsehead Nebula, an astrophtographer will become acquainted with Alnitak. Many astrophotgraphers consider it to be a real pain, and it is. But another, sigma-Orion just to the west (up in this image) can also create a strong lens flare. With this framing, both the large flare from sigma-Orion, and the small one from Alnitak, cross to frame the Horsehead in an effort to... just embrace the light. In the process, in between the flares, a nice close up of the Horsehead emerges.

This target is fascinating the way sigma-Orion lights the dark horsehead nebula from above and behind, yielding a bright top, sides and even front, while the protected region just at the top of the "neck" stays dark. Small, faint stars are all around. And the striations of red, hydrogen gases seemingly rising toward sigma-Orion make it appear as if there is a magnetic field somehow aligning charged gases. (No one knows what is really happening with those striations but it is fun to think about). Then the large cloud of gas that looks like the tops of clouds you fly over on earth with an invitation to run through them to disturb their peaceful rest. What makes them lie down together, then shoot up towards sigma-Orion? What caused the horsehead to move in a direction different than the rest of the dark matter? Maybe it's to give beauty and variety to us.

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Astrometry.net job	9109447
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Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

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Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

Horsehead Nebula, IC-434 - Embrace the light

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