20th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Horsehead Nebula

Horsehead nebula (also known as Barnard33) it is a small dark nebula in the constellation of Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 422 parsecs or 1,375 light-years from Earth.[1][3] It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2022
Date Uploaded: 09.2022
Photo Location: Why, Arizona, United States of America
Copyright: © Jelieta Walinski Ph.D