          APOD: 2018 April 23 - The Blue Horsehead Nebula in Infrared

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                2018 April 23
                                      [2]
                    The Blue Horsehead Nebula in Infrared
    Image Credit: WISE [3] , IRSA [4] , NASA [5] ; Processing & Copyright :
                            Francesco Antonucci [6]

Explanation: The Blue Horsehead Nebula looks quite different in infrared
light. In visible light [7] , the reflecting dust [8]  of the nebula appears
blue and shaped like a horse's head [9] . In infrared light [10] , however, a
complex labyrinth of filaments, caverns, and cocoons of glowing dust and gas
emerges, making it hard to even identify the equine icon [11] . The featured
image of the nebula was created in three infrared colors (R=22, G=12, B=4.6
micron [12] s) from data taken by NASA's orbiting Wide Field Infrared Survey
Explorer [13]  (WISE) spacecraft. The nebula [14]  is cataloged as IC 4592
[15] and spans about 40 light years, lying about 400 light years away toward
the constellation Scorpius [16] along the plane of our Milky Way [17]  Galaxy.
IC 4592 [18] is fainter but covers an angularly greater region than the better
known Horsehead Nebula [19]  of Orion [20] . The star that predominantly
illuminates and heats the dust is Nu Scorpii [21] , visible as the reddened
star left of center.

                  Tomorrow's picture: Listen to Saturn [22]

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1804/IC4592_WiseAntonucciR_5000.jpg
  [3] http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/main/
  [4] http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/Missions/wise.html
  [5] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [6] mailto: francesco .dot. antonucci @at@ fastwebnet .dot. it
  [7] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight
  [8]
http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/space-environment/
2-what-is-interstellar-dust.html
  [9] ap090521.html
  [10] https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  [11] ap140727.html
  [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre
  [13] https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wise/overview.cfm
  [14] http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/IC4592-WISE-mouseover.html
  [15] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_4592
  [16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpius
  [17] http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galaxy.html
  [18] http://wise.ssl.berkeley.edu/gallery_ic4592.html
  [19] ap171227.html
  [20] ap161204.html
  [21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nu_Scorpii
  [22] ap180424.html
  [23] ap180422.html
  [24] archivepix.html
  [25] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [26] lib/aptree.html
  [27] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [28] calendar/allyears.html
  [29] /apod.rss
  [30] lib/edlinks.html
  [31] lib/about_apod.html
  [32] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180423
  [33] ap180424.html
  [34] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [35] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [36] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [37] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [38] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [39] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [40] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [41] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [42] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [43] http://www.mtu.edu/
