December 25, 2016
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
The Magnificent Horsehead Nebula
Birthday · December 25, 2016
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APOD published December 25, 2016. Credit: Marco Burali, Tiziano Capecchi, Marco Mancini (Osservatorio MTM). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, a magnificent interstellar dust cloud by chance has assumed this recognizable shape. Fittingly named the Horsehead Nebula, it is some 1,500 light-years distant, embedded in the vast Orion cloud complex. About five light-years "tall", the dark cloud is cataloged as Barnard 33 and is visible only because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glowing red emission nebula IC 434. Stars are forming within the dark cloud. Contrasting blue reflection nebula NGC 2023, surrounding a hot, young star, is at the lower left. The gorgeous color image combines both narrowband and broadband images recorded using three different telescopes. Free Present: APOD 2017 Calendar: NASA Images
Image credit: Marco Burali, Tiziano Capecchi, Marco Mancini (Osservatorio MTM)