The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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This three-panel image shows the latest near-infrared Hubble image of the Horsehead Nebula in context with the new wide-field Herschel view of the surrounding environment at far-infrared wavelengths.
A portion of the image highlighting both the Horsehead and Flame Nebula is also shown in visible light in an image from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The star Altnitak is indicated – this is the most easterly star in Orion’s famous three-star belt. Several reflection nebulas are also indicated; these host star formation, and like the Horsehead and Flame, are popular targets for astrophotographers.
The Herschel image is 4.5x1.5 degrees and is oriented with northeast towards the left of the image and southwest towards the right. The image covers far-infrared wavelengths: 70 microns (blue), 160 microns (green) and 250 microns (red).
The Hubble image is approximately 6 arcminutes across and is oriented with north to the left and east down. The image is taken at near-infrared wavelengths: 1.1 microns (blue/cyan) and 1.6 microns (red/orange).