Below are 2 images of the Horsehead Nebula and Flame Nebula taken by member George Buckberry. The 1st on the 31st Dec 2025 having only 17mins and 45 seconds of total exposure and the 2nd on the 1st Jan 2026 having 1 hour and 15mins total exposure; both taken using a Dwarf3 smart scope. The Horsehead Nebula is located in the centre of the images and the Flame nebula is located at the top middle of the images.
The Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33, and its companion, the Flame Nebula, sit near the star Alnitak in Orion’s Belt.
The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula located about 1,375 light-years from Earth and is located just south of Alnitak, the easternmost star of Orion’s Belt and is part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud complex within the Orion B cloud. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse’s head.
The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula also in the constellation Orion. It is about 1350 light-years away. The Flame Nebula also lies within the Orion B cloud of the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.
The bright star Alnitak the easternmost star in Orion’s Belt, appears very close to the Flame Nebula in the sky. But the star and nebula are not physically associated with one another. Alnitak lies 1260 light-years from Earth.