                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

                              2022 September 21

                The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble
       Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing: Alexandra Nachman

   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 featured gorgeously detailed image was taken in
   infrared light by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. 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 high energy starlight.

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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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