Wisps Surrounding the Horsehead Nebula
The famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion is not alone. A deep exposure shows that the dark familiar shaped indentation, visible just below center, is part of a vast complex of absorbing dust and glowing gas . To bring out details of the Horse head's pasture, amateur astronomers at the Star Shadow Remote Observatory in New Mexico , USA fixed a small telescope on the region for over seven hours filtering out all but a very specific color of red light emitted by hydrogen . They then added the image to a full color frame taken over three hours. The resulting spectacular picture details an intricate tapestry of gaseous wisps and dust-laden filaments that were created and sculpted over eons by stellar winds and ancient supernovas . The Horsehead Nebula lies 1,500 light years distant towards the constellation of Orion . Two stars from the Orion's Belt can be found in the above image .