The Horsehead Nebula is a dark nebula, consisting of a dense cloud of dust partially obscuring a glowing cloud of gas. The shape of the nebula, which resembles the head of a horse, is purely coincidental.

Discovered in the 1880's and first cataloged by E.E. Barnard in 1919, the dark cloud has been designated "Barnard 33", while the glowing emission nebula illuminating it from behind is designated "IC434". IC434 is a small part of a large, active star-forming region located at a distance of about 1,600 light years from earth known as the Orion Molecular Cloud.

The Horsehead Nebula is not visible to the naked eye, and observing it with even large amateur telescopes is challenging, requiring very dark skies and well-honed observing skills. I believe I glimpsed it through my 203mm f/5 newtonian reflector on the exceptionally clear winter night in 2006 when I took this photo. The photo, actually a composite of several multi-minute exposures made with a Canon Digital Rebel XT, testifies that I had pointed the telescope in the right direction. Unfortunately a disk crash cost me the original frames and the exposure data - I hope to have another opportunity to photograph the Horsehead on another winter night.