Friday, March 26, 2010

Astrophoto Friday: The Flame Nebula


The Flame Nebula, also known as NGC 2024, is a stellar nursery located about 1,500 light years from our solar system. The nebula is a region of star formation that is in the process of forming a star cluster. It is visible through small telescopes. It is located in the constellation of Orion near the star known as Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion's Belt.

This image was captured by David Thompson then of the California Institute of Technology. He used the Palomar Observatory's 200-inch (5-meter) Hale Telescope with its Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRC).

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