The Horsehead Nebula

Description:

The Horsehead Nebula is a favorite among amateur astrophotographers. It is easy to find in the constellation Orion in winter. The big shining star (Alnitak) that we see in the photo is the star on the left among the 3 stars of Orion’s belt that we can easily see with the naked eye.

The nebula itself can only be seen by photographing it as it is a dark mass of gas and dust looming behind an emissive nebula of ionized gas.