Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble

NASA ^ | April 22, 2013 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: While drifting through the cosmos, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud became sculpted by stellar winds and radiation to assume a recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is embedded in the vast and complex Orion Nebula (M42). A potentially rewarding but difficult object to view personally with a small telescope, the above gorgeously detailed image was recently taken in infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope in honor of the 23rd anniversary of Hubble's launch. The dark molecular cloud, roughly 1,500 light years distant, is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is seen above primarily because it is backlit by the nearby massive star Sigma Orionis. The Horsehead Nebula will slowly shift its apparent shape over the next few million years and will eventually be destroyed by the high energy starlight.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STSci/AURA)]

[SunkenCiv]

I love me some nebula -- here's the big version.

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[UCANSEE2]

Thanks for posting this.

I saw the picture on APOD last night.

Isn’t it just beautiful ?

[bigheadfred]

That is some incredible resolution.

[left that other site]

One of the Very BEST!

Thanks, Sunky!

[cripplecreek]

I’m guessing they use a high pass filter in post processing to bring out the texture.

[bigheadfred]

I think they use magic.

[Gay State Conservative]

And to think that there are educated people who are *convinced* that there’s no God.

[mylife]

Digital sensors on cameras let us see amazing thing nowadays.

[blueunicorn6]

It’s gonna be gone in a few million years? Eh......Cher will probably still be around.

[BenLurkin]

It looks like Jar Jar Binks

[mikrofon]

[PGalt]

Ethereal

Thanks, ‘Civ.

[onyx]

WOW!
Thanks so much!

[bravo whiskey]

that is just plain creepy looking, especially the fleshy color. my imagination is going 4-goose bozo sci-fi crazy.

[Zuriel]

“Canst thou....loose the bands of Orion?” Job 38:31

[Slyfox]

[TigersEye]

Bizarre. Amazing! Beautiful.

[PGalt]

Well done, Slyfox. That thought ran through my head. Baby nebula.

life

Magnificent

BUMP!

[Conan the Librarian]

Saw this one through a buddy’s 22 inch Obsession scope.

It didn’t look like that.

Telescope-wise, this is a really big sucker!