Horsehead Nebula
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| Horsehead Nebula | |
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| Observation data (Epoch J2000.0) | |
| Type | dark nebula/diffuse nebulae |
| Right ascension | 05h 40m 59.0s |
| Declination | −02° 27′ 30.0" |
| Distance (ly) | 1,500 ly |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 8 × 6 arcmins |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Notable features | Resembles a horse's head |
| Other designations | IC 434, Barnard 33, LDN 1630, M3T 31, [OS98] 52 |
| See also: Dark nebula, Lists of nebulae | |
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC 434) is a dark nebula in the constellation Orion.[1] The nebula is located just to the south of the star Alnitak, which is farthest east on Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The nebula was first recorded in 1888 by Williamina Fleming on photographic plate B2312 taken at the Harvard College Observatory. Its coincidental appearance as the profile of a horse's head and neck has led to its becoming one of the most familiar astronomical objects. It is, in fact, an extremely dense cloud projecting in front of the ionized gas that provides the pink glow so nicely revealed in this picture. We know this not only because the underside of the "neck" is especially dark, but because it actually casts a shadow on the field to its east (below the "muzzle"). [2]
The red or pinkish glow originates from hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula, ionized by the nearby bright star Sigma Orionis. The darkness of the Horsehead is caused mostly by thick dust, although the lower part of the Horsehead's neck casts a shadow to the left. Streams of gas leaving the nebula are funneled by a strong magnetic field. Bright spots in the Horsehead Nebula's base are young stars just in the process of forming. It is 86.1 light years (ly)
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Wide angle shot of the nebula with large gaseous clouds off to the side
[edit] External links
Media related to Horsehead Nebula at Wikimedia Commons
- The Horsehead Nebula @ The Electronic Sky
- Hubble Observes the Horsehead Nebula
- The discovery of early photographs of the Horsehead nebula, by Waldee and Hazen
- The Horsehead Nebula in the 19th Century, by Waldee
- Detection of new nebulae by photography, by Pickering
- Horsehead Nebula at ESA/Hubble
- The Horsehead Nebula at the Astro-Photography site of Mr. T. Yoshida.
- The Horsehead-Nebula and neighboring structures in a classical view
- The Horsehead Nebula on interactive astro-photography survey at Wikisky.org
- Photograph of M. Weigand
[edit] References
- ^ Arnett, Bill. http://astro.nineplanets.org/twn/b33x.html. Horsehead Nebula, 2000
- ^ Sharp, Nigel/NOAO. http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0057.html.
