                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2026 February 18
     A starfield is shown filled with red glowing gas. On the right is a
       blue-glowing complex nebula, while on the left there is a long
   encircling arc of red gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                               Orion's Cradle
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Piotr Czerski

   Explanation: Cradled in red-glowing hydrogen gas, stars are being born
   in Orion. These stellar nurseries lie at the edge of the giant Orion
   molecular cloud complex, some 1,500 light-years away. This detailed
   view spans about 12 degrees across the center of the well-known
   constellation, with the Great Orion Nebula, the closest large
   star-forming region, visible toward the lower right. The deep mosaic
   also includes, near the top center, the Flame Nebula and the Horsehead
   Nebula. Image data acquired with a hydrogen-alpha filter adds other
   remarkable features to this wide-angle cosmic vista: pervasive tendrils
   of energized atomic hydrogen gas and portions of the surrounding
   Barnard's Loop. While the Orion Nebula and many stars in Orion are easy
   to see with the unaided eye, emission from the extensive interstellar
   gas is faint and much harder to record, even in telescopic views of the
   nebula-rich complex.

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