Detail nebuleuse de la Tete de Cheval by HST - The Horsehead, also known as...

Detail nebuleuse de la Tete de Cheval by HST - The Horsehead, also known as Barnard 33, is a cold, dark cloud of gas and dust, silhouetted against the bright nebula, IC 434. The bright area at the top left edge is a young star still embedded in its nursery of gas and dust. Radiation from this hot star is eroding its gaseous birthplace. A massive star located outside Hubble's view is, in a similar fashion, sculpting the top of the Horsehead itself. The Horsehead, located in the constellation Orion, is a cousin of the famous pillars of dust and gas known as the Eagle nebula. Both tower - like nebulae are cocoons of young stars. The Horsehead nebula lies just south of the bright star Zeta Orionis, which is easily visible to the unaided eye as the left - hand star in the line of three that form Orion's Belt. Amateur astronomers often use the Horsehead as a test of their observing skills - it is known as one of the more difficult objects to observe visually with an amateur - sized telescope. This image was composed by the Hubble Heritage Team, which superimposed Hubble data onto ground - based data taken at the 0.9 - meter telescope at the National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona