APOD: 2019 October 6 - The Horsehead Nebula

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "The Horsehead Nebula." The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion.[2] The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The horse-head feature is dark because it is really an opaque dust cloud that lies in front of a bright red emission nebula. The red color is caused by electrons recombining with protons to form hydrogen atoms. The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024), an orange-tinged nebula that also contains filaments of dark dust, lies approximately 1200 light years away. The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 1400 light years from Earth.