The Horsehead Nebula
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TL;DR
The Horsehead Nebula is a dark molecular cloud shaped like a horse's head, located 1,500 light-years away in the Orion complex. It's visible due to dust silhouetted against IC 434, with young stars forming inside, and its shape will change over millions of years.
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Horsehead NebulaOrion cloud complexBarnard 33IC 434Hubble telescope
The Horsehead Nebula
Image Credit & Copyright: George Chatzifrantzis
Explanation: Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation, this dusty interstellar molecular cloud has by chance has assumed an immediately recognizable shape. Fittingly known as The Horsehead Nebula, it lies 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, first identified on a photographic plate taken in the late 19th century. B33 is visible primarily because its obscuring dust is silhouetted against the glow of emission nebula IC 434. Hubble space telescope images from the early 21st century find young stars forming within B33. Of course, the magnificent interstellar cloud will slowly shift its apparent shape over the next few million years. But for now the Horsehead Nebula is a rewarding though difficult object to view with small telescopes from planet Earth.