Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 November 25
    [2]The top half glows red, while the bottom half is filled with dark
     dust. Protruding into the red is a dark dust lane that resembles a
   horse's head. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                            The Horsehead Nebula
            Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Alex Lin ([4]Chilescope)

   Explanation: One of the most identifiable nebulas in the sky, the
   [5]Horsehead Nebula in [6]Orion, is part of a large, dark, [7]molecular
   cloud. Also known as [8]Barnard 33, the unusual shape was first
   [9]discovered on a [10]photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red
   glow originates from [11]hydrogen gas predominantly behind the nebula,
   ionized by the nearby bright star [12]Sigma Orionis. The darkness of
   the [13]Horsehead is caused mostly by thick [14]dust, although the
   lower part of the [15]Horsehead's neck casts a [16]shadow to the left.
   Streams of gas leaving [17]the nebula are funneled by a strong
   [18]magnetic field. Bright spots in the [19]Horsehead Nebula's base are
   young stars just in the [20]process of forming. Light takes about 1,500
   years to reach us from the [21]Horsehead Nebula. The [22]featured image
   was taken from the [23]Chilescope Observatory in the [24]mountains of
   [25]Chile.

                   Tomorrow's picture: meteor races comet
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    Authors & editors: [37]Robert Nemiroff ([38]MTU) & [39]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([40]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [41]Specific rights apply.
            [42]NASA Web Privacy, [43]Accessibility, [44]Notices;
                A service of: [45]ASD at [46]NASA / [47]GSFC,
                         [48]NASA Science Activation
                           & [49]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2411/Horsehead_Lin_2596.jpg
   3. https://www.astrobin.com/users/MadNug/
   4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHILESCOPE
   5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsehead_Nebula
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230129.html
   8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Emerson_Barnard
   9. http://www.messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/b33.html
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_plate
  11. http://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma_Orionis
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221229.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030706.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081126.html
  16. https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/funny-shadow-fails-illusions-1.jpg
  17. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgTrLozRj40
  18. https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/Imagnet.html
  19. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1987AJ.....93.1514Z/abstract
  20. https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/science-highlights/exploring-the-birth-of-stars/
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090224.html
  22. https://www.astrobin.com/h2afic/
  23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHILESCOPE
  24. https://youtu.be/tCZ9jz5pc9E
  25. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241124.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  30. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  32. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  35. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241125
  36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241126.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  38. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  39. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  40. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  41. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  45. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  46. https://www.nasa.gov/
  47. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  48. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  49. http://www.mtu.edu/