The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33) is a dark nebula that is silhouetted against the brighter reddish nebula known as IC 434. It is located approximately 1,600 light years from our solar system.
The nebula is located within the constellation of Orion just south of the star known as Alnitak (Zeta Orionis), which is the easternmost star in Orion's belt. Alnitak is the very bright star directly above the horsehead nebula. To the left of Alnitak is the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).
This image is a composite from two black and white images taken with the Palomar Observatory's 48-inch (1.2-meter) Samuel Oschin Telescope as a part of the Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey. The images were recorded on two glass photographic plates - one sensitive to red light and the other to blue. The plates were scanned and color combined to produce the image seen here.
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