HORSEHEAD NEBULA

1500 light-years

This close-up view made by the very large telescope Kueyen shows the intricate detail in the head of the Horsehead Nebula. The nebula is a vast cloud of dark dust, silhouetted against the glowing reddish hydrogen gas behind it. Despite sitting in a region often studied by astronomers, the nebula was first noticed by Williamina Fleming on a photographic plate in 1888.

Credit: Image made in visible light by the European Southern Observatory.

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