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Explanation: Why is the belt of Orion surrounded by a bubble? Although glowing like an emission nebula, the origin of the bubble, known as Barnard's Loop, is currently unknown. Progenitor hypotheses include the winds from bright Orion stars and the supernovas of stars long gone. Barnard's Loop is too faint to be identified with the unaided eye. The nebula was discovered only in 1895 by E. E. Barnard on long duration film exposures. Orion's belt is seen as the three bright stars across the center of the image, the upper two noticeably blue. Just to the right of the lowest star in Orion's belt is a slight indentation in an emission nebula that, when seen at higher magnification, resolves into the Horsehead Nebula. To the right of the belt stars is the bright, famous, and photogenic Orion Nebula.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Orion - emission nebula - supernova
Publications with words: Orion - emission nebula - supernova
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 21 B Cats Paw Nebula from Webb Space Telescope
- APOD: 2025 July 16 B The Rosette Nebula from DECam
- APOD: 2025 July 5 B Ou4: The Giant Squid Nebula
- APOD: 2025 June 26 B The Seagull Nebula
- NGC 6164: A Dragon s Egg
- APOD: 2025 February 18 B Thors Helmet versus the Seagull
- APOD: 2025 February 11 B The Spider and the Fly