Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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 December 29 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Horsehead and Flame Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Jason Close Explanation: [5]The Horsehead Nebula, famous celestial [6]dark marking also known as Barnard 33, is notched against a background glow of emission nebulae in [7]this sharp cosmic skyscape. About five light-years "tall" the Horsehead lies some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation [8]of Orion. Within the region's fertile molecular cloud complex, the expanse of obscuring dust has a recognizable shape only by chance from our perspective in the Milky Way though. Orion's easternmost belt star, bright Alnitak, is to the left of center. Energetic ultraviolet light from [9]Alnitak powers the glow of dusty NGC 2024, the [10]Flame Nebula, just below it. Completing a study in cosmic contrasts, bluish reflection [11]nebula NGC 2023 is below the Horsehead itself. This well-framed telescopic field spans about 3 full moons on the sky. Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space __________________________________________________________________ [12]< | [13]Archive | [14]Submissions | [15]Index | [16]Search | [17]Calendar | [18]RSS | [19]Education | [20]About APOD | [21]Discuss | [22]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell ([26]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [27]Specific rights apply. [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC, [32]NASA Science Activation & [33]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/B33LRGB_fb.png 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/AmargosaSky/ 5. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220921.html 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090425.html 7. https://www.astrobin.com/cpwtjv/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200329.html 9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210412.html 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210417.html 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180329.html 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221228.html 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221229 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221230.html 23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 30. https://www.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 32. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 33. http://www.mtu.edu/