Looking like an apparition rising from whitecaps of
interstellar foam, the iconic Horsehead Nebula has graced astronomy books ever
since its discovery over a century ago. The nebula is a favorite target for
amateur and professional astronomers.
In this new Hubble Space Telescope view, the nebula appears
in a new light, as seen in infrared wavelengths. The nebula, shadowy in optical
light, appears transparent and ethereal when seen in the infrared, represented
here with visible shades. The rich tapestry of the Horsehead Nebula pops out
against the backdrop of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies that are easily
seen in infrared light.
The Horsehead was photographed in celebration of the 23rd
anniversary of the launch of Hubble aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Over
its two decades of producing ground-breaking science, Hubble has benefited from
a slew of upgrades, including the 2009 addition of a new imaging workhorse: the
high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3 that was used to take this portrait of the
Horsehead.