From CFHT's ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE WEEK
The Horsehead nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is an extension of another large dark nebula made of gas and dust. It blocks the background light from stars located in our own Galaxy, as well as the light from distant galaxies (the small ellipses on the image). Behind "The Horsehead" lies another nebula, that is seen in emission, IC 434. It appears on this image as the cloudy structure behind "The Horsehead". Barnard 33 is part of the Orion molecular cloud, a large high-mass star formation complex that includes the great Orion Nebula (Messier 42). It is distant of about 1,500 light years from us. The field on this image extends over 8 light years.
This image was taken with the CFH12K Camera installed at the telescope prime focus. This color composite image was made from a 9 minute V exposure (wavelength = 550 nm) and a 20 minute I exposure (wavelength = 814 nm).
Image Title: The Horsehead Nebula (II)
Image courtesy of Dr. Jean-Charles Cuillandre, CFHT.
The text is based on accompanying on-line materials.
Last Modified On: Sunday, December 17, 2000