NASA shares 1,500 light-years away Horsehead Nebula’s photo from Orion constellation

NASA shares an infrared photo of Nebula from the Orion constellation which is 1,500 light-years away. A new infrared lens was used to capture this. The recently-shared post was put up on the NASA Hubble Instagram official account, which every-now-and-then treats the followers with mesmerizing pictures of the universe.

Celestial objects captured with Hubble Space Telescope

The post said, “When viewing celestial objects through visible light – light that the human eye can see – thick clouds of dust can appear shadowy. In order to capture this nebula’s stunning, ethereal wisps, the Hubble Space Telescope turns to infrared light[sic].” According to the post, the Horsehead Nebula, located about 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Orion, is one of the most easily recognised nebulae in the night sky. This scientific visualisation brings the breath-taking cosmic panorama to life by simulating a trip through an infrared perspective of the nebula.

NASA infrared Nebula photo from Orion constellation 

The unusually shaped Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, was first found on a photographic plate in the late 1800s. The red light comes from hydrogen gas ionised by the neighbouring star Sigma Orionis, which is mostly found behind the nebula. Although the lower half of the Horsehead's neck throws a shadow to the left, the darkness of the Horsehead is primarily due to dense dust. A powerful magnetic field funnels gas streams leaving the nebula. The Horsehead Nebula's bright patches are young stars in the process of developing. Its discovery had captured a lot of media attention due to its unique shape, which gave it its name. 

In the post, the visualisation credits are given to NASA, ESA, and G Bacon, T Borders, L Frattare, Z Levay, and F Summers (Viz 3D Team, STScI); Horsehead image: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J Emerson (ESO, VISTA), and Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. Night sky image: A Fujii; Survey image: Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, Palomar/Caltech, and UKSTU/AAO; IR image: J Emerson (ESO, VISTA), and Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. Meanwhile, music credits for the post are given to “Finder,” Jamal Steven Pilgrim [ASCAP], Open Note, In Reality, Universal Production Music.

(IMAGE: @NASAHUBBLE - INSTAGRAM)