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The Horsehead Nebula (B33) is a famous dark nebula located in the constellation Orion. It is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, one of the nearest active regions of star formation to the Sun. The nebula lies at an approximate distance of 1,375 light-years from the solar system.
The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most identifiable nebulae in the sky. It appears in the southern portion of a dense dark dust cloud catalogued as Lynds 1630 (LND 1630).
The swirling clouds of gas and dark dust that form the nebula have the shape of a horse’s head, giving the nebula its name. The dark dust clouds are made visible by the pinkish glow of hydrogen gas located behind the nebula.