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Horsehead Nebula (NIRCam Image)

A clumpy dome of blueish-gray clouds topped with streaky, translucent red wisps. A large, prominent star is at the top of the image.

This image of the Horsehead Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope focuses on a portion of the horse’s “mane” that is about 0.8 light-years in width. It was taken with Webb’s NIRCam (Near-infrared Camera). The ethereal clouds that appear blue at the bottom of the image are filled with a variety of materials including hydrogen, methane, and water ice. Red-colored wisps extending above the main nebula represent both atomic and molecular hydrogen. In this area, known as a photodissociation region, ultraviolet light from nearby young, massive stars creates a mostly neutral, warm area of gas and dust between the fully ionized gas above and the nebula below. As with many Webb images, distant galaxies are sprinkled in the background.

This image is composed of light at wavelengths of 1.4 and 2.5 microns (represented in blue), 3.0 and 3.23 microns (cyan), 3.35 microns (green), 4.3 microns (yellow), and 4.7 and 4.05 microns (red).

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    05:40:52.62
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -02:28:47.49
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Orion
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    1,300 light years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 2.1 arcminutes across

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    This image was created with Webb data from proposal 1192 (K. Misselt)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    NIRCam
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    30 January 2023
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F140M, F250M, F300M, F323N, F335M, F430M, F405N, F470N
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Horsehead Nebula, Barnard 33
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Star-forming region
  • Release Date
    April 29, 2024
  • Science Release
    Webb Captures Top of Iconic Horsehead Nebula in Unprecedented Detail
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, Karl Misselt (University of Arizona), Alain Abergel (IAS, CNRS)

Downloads

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    tif (49.86 MB)
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    png (20.53 MB)
  • 1987 × 2000
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A clumpy dome of blueish-gray clouds topped with streaky, translucent red wisps. A large, prominent star is at the top of the image.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the NIRCam instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample various wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue= F140M, F250M, Cyan=  F300M, F323N, Green= F335M, Orange=F430M, Red= F405N, F407N

Related Images & Videos

The image is more than half-filled from the bottom up by a small section of the Horsehead Nebula. Streaky clouds of white, gray and blue resemble a foamy wave crashing at the seashore. The nebula stops at a textured, fuzzy-looking edge that follows a slight curve. Above it a small number of distant stars and galaxies lie on a dark but multi-colored background.

Horsehead Nebula (MIRI Image)

This image of the Horsehead Nebula from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope focuses on a portion of the horse’s “mane.” It was taken with Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument). Mid-infrared light captures the glow of substances like dusty silicates and soot-like molecules called...

A horizontal collage of three images of the Horsehead Nebula.

Horsehead Nebula (Euclid, Hubble and Webb Images)

This image showcases three views of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula. The first image (left), released in November 2023, features the Horsehead Nebula as seen in visible light by ESA’s Euclid telescope, which has contributions from NASA. The...

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, Karl Misselt (University of Arizona), Alain Abergel (IAS, CNRS)

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