Horsehead Nebula

space · nebula · Orion · dust cloud

Shaped like a horse. The Horsehead Nebula got its name because the dark dust cloud really does look like a horse's head when you see it through a telescope. It's one of the easiest nebulae to recognize in the night sky.

Part of Orion. You can find the Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion, located just below Alnitak, which is the easternmost star in Orion's Belt. It's part of a giant group of clouds called the Orion molecular cloud complex.

Dark dust cloud. The Horsehead is a dark nebula, which means it's made of thick dust and gas that blocks out the light from stars behind it. This makes it appear as a dark silhouette against the glowing clouds around it.

Baby star factory. The Horsehead sits along the edge of IC 434, a region where new stars are actively being born. The dust and gas clouds in this area are the raw materials that will someday become new stars.

Very far away. The Horsehead Nebula is about 1,375 light-years from Earth, which means the light we see from it today left there over 1,300 years ago.