The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous and easily recognizable objects in the sky. It lies just under the left hand star of Orion's Belt. It cannot be seen with the naked eye, nor with binoculars, or even a small telescope. It requires at least a medium sized scope, special filters, and good viewing conditions. Thus it is usually considered a prize find by amatuers, and a benchmark also. Viewing it means your not a novice astronomer anymore.
The Horsehead is actually a thick cloud of dust in front of IC 434, a red emission nebula. Notice how few stars are visible in the horse. It lies about 1,500 light years away and was first discovered in 1888. The bright star to the left is not the star that is lighting up IC 434. That light is provided by Sigma Orionis, a multiple star system above this picture. The small yellowish nebula below the horse is V615 Orionis. The large blue nebula at lower left is NGC 2023, a reflection nebula.
This photo is actually sideways. It should be turned 90 deg. to the right.
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