The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula located about 1,375 light-years (422 pc) from Earth in the constellation of
Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt, and is part of the much
larger Orion molecular cloud complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630,
along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434. It is one of the most identifiable
nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head.1
Names
Flame Nebula, NGC 2024, Sh2-277
Magnitude
1.59
Size
30' x 30'
Ra
05h 43m02.7s
Dec
-01°49'49.3"
The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 1350
light-years away. At that distance, the Flame Nebula lies within the Orion B cloud of the larger Orion Molecular
Cloud Complex.2