Optical photograph of part of the Orion region of the sky, showing the Orion Nebula (M42) at bottom, the Horsehead Nebula at centre left, & the three

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Optical photograph of part of the Orion region of the sky, showing the Orion Nebula (M42) at bottom, the Horsehead Nebula at centre left, & the three stars forming Orion's Belt at top. The Orion Nebula is a bright cloud of gas & dust lit up by recently formed stars. The Horsehead is a dark dust cloud which protrudes into the diffuse pink nebula known as IC 434. Schmidt camera. 1979.

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Size: 3329px × 4990px
Photo credit: © JOHN SANFORD/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 434, 1976, astronomy, belt, birth, cosmology, evolution, formation, horsehead, ic, m42, nebula, ngc, optical, orion, orions, science, star, starbirth, stellar