Horsehead nebula is a small dark nebula which is situated in the constellation Orion which is prominent in the winter evening sky in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer evening sky in the Southern Hemisphere. It is about 1400 light years away from us. It was discovered by an astronomer of Scotland, Williamina Fleming in 1888 from Harvard College Observatory. It is visible only due to the backdrop of the bright emission nebula IC 434. Both Horsehead nebula and IC 434 are the part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which is an enormous star forming region spanning hundred of light years in diameter. It will eventually disperse due to ultra violet radiation from nearby stars evaporating its gas cloud. It is also known as Barnard 33. It is one the beautiful nebulae.
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