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.
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk. — Garrison Keillor
WJShaheen wrote:It is a surprise to me that the Horsehead Nebula is embedded within the Orion Nebula (M42). Is this correct?
Maybe the writer meant to write “Orion Molecular Cloud Complex”? That would make more sense than mixing up M42 and IC 434, although the latter would be more precise.
incredible detail. hubble is demonstrating astonishing clarity and texture. the orion nebula, ofcourse, is cited in ancient text as man's origin. other sources mention the pleiades star cluster as man's ancient home. there are stories about a home world known as lyra. could the hubble heritage team image the pleiades field for earth-like planets..?
Yet another childhood image destroyed by high definition. Looks nothing like a horsehead, and none of the old pictures will look like one anymore. The price of progress...
A moving visual extrapolation (to the best of our current knowledge) of the Horsehead Nebula over the past and future few million years might be highly worth watching. Hint to someone.
tedrey wrote:
A moving visual extrapolation (to the best of our current knowledge) of the Horsehead Nebula over the past and future few million years might be highly worth watching. Hint to someone.
userloser wrote:Yet another childhood image destroyed by high definition. Looks nothing like a horsehead, and none of the old pictures will look like one anymore. The price of progress...
Actually, the familiar silhouette wasn't destroyed by high definition. By using infrared light, Hubble is able to see through certain parts of the nebula which are tenuous enough to let such light shine through. So we're able to see all of the hidden things behind (and within?) the horse's head.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.
userloser wrote:
Yet another childhood image destroyed by high definition. Looks nothing like a horsehead, and none of the old pictures will look like one anymore. The price of progress...
Actually, the familiar silhouette wasn't destroyed by high definition. By using infrared light, Hubble is able to see through certain parts of the nebula which are tenuous enough to let such light shine through. So we're able to see all of the hidden things behind (and within?) the horse's head.
Happy Anniversary, Hubble! Kudos to all the unsung heroes who made that happen.
Awesome image.
The image of Barnard 33 in Dr. Neuendorffer's ESA lower right image does resemble a sea and/or land horse. However the Hubble Anniversary shot looks more like some kind of monster with wing-like ears, its mouth open displaying its two teeth.
(Good thing our ancient ancestors gave us the power to imagine shapes where there are none, if not just to escape being eaten by tigers lurking in the underbrush, much like Opus and Bill T. Cat laying in a field seeing patterns in cumulus clouds floating by, or Linus describing to Peanuts the intricate details of the Peloponnesian War that he sees in a similar cloud.)
Beautiful IR detail of one of my favorite space objects. I still see the horse head and wonder at the "gaseous" detail.
Contrasting tail of recognition… I was driving the other day and thought I saw one of my neighbors walking down the street so I commenced to blow my horn and wave only to discover it was an alarmed/annoyed complete stranger.
Horses and gas go together so well, and obviously very photogenic. And as far as Hubble taking the image, what I meant is how does Hubble maintaing the aiming point so steady an image like this becomes possible ?
ta152h0 wrote:Horses and gas go together so well, and obviously very photogenic. And as far as Hubble taking the image, what I meant is how does Hubble maintaing the aiming point so steady an image like this becomes possible ?
ta152h0 wrote:
Horses and gas go together so well, and obviously very photogenic. And as far as Hubble taking the image, what I meant is how does Hubble maintaing the aiming point so steady an image like this becomes possible ?
The Horsehead Nebula in Infrared from Hubble
Reminds me of an old saying! "That's a horse of a different color!" 
