A cosmic flame

Sparkling at the edge of a giant cloud of gas and dust, the Flame Nebula, also referred to as NGC 2024, is in fact the hideout of a cluster of young, blue, massive stars, whose light sets the gas ablaze. Located 1,300 light-years away towards the constellation of Orion, the nebula owes its typical colour to the glow of hydrogen atoms, heated by the stars. The latter are obscured by a dark, forked dusty structure in the centre of the image and are only revealed by infrared observations.

This image is based on data acquired with the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, combining three exposures in the filters B (40 seconds), V (80 seconds) and R (40 seconds).

Credit:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler, J.-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thöne and C. Féron

About the Image

Id:eso-flame
Type:Observation
Release date:3 December 2009, 23:20
Size:2044 x 2075 px

About the Object

Name:Flame Nebula, NGC 2024
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Appearance : Emission
Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Distance:1500 light years
Constellation:Orion
Category:Nebulae
Stars

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.2 MB
Screensize JPEG
311.4 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
302.4 KB
1280x1024
466.3 KB
1600x1200
644.1 KB
1920x1200
757.0 KB
2048x1536
1003.2 KB

Coordinates

Position (RA):5 41 42.73
Position (Dec):-1° 54' 43.66"
Field of view:13.42 x 13.63 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 45.1° left of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
B
433 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Optical
V
544 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Optical
R
648 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC