Flame Nebula
| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
The Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) - based on Chandra X-Ray and Spitzer Infrared images.
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| Observation data: J2000.0 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 05h 41m 54s |
| Declination | −1° 51′ 0.0″ |
| Distance | 1350[1] ly (415 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | +2[citation needed] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 30'x30' |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Designations | NGC 2024 and Sharpless 277 |
The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away.
The bright star Alnitak (ζ Ori), the easternmost star in the Belt of Orion, shines energetic ultraviolet light into the Flame and this knocks electrons away from the great clouds of hydrogen gas that reside there. Much of the glow results when the electrons and ionized hydrogen recombine. Additional dark gas and dust lies in front of the bright part of the nebula and this is what causes the dark network that appears in the center of the glowing gas. The Flame Nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, a star-forming region that includes the famous Horsehead Nebula.
At the center of the Flame Nebula is a cluster of newly formed stars,[2] 86% of which have circumstellar disks.[3] X-ray observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory[4][5] show several hundred young stars, out of an estimated population of 800 stars.[6] X-ray and infrared images indicate that the youngest stars are concentrated near the center of the cluster.[7][8]
Contents
Gallery
See also
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- NGC 2024 at Astrophotography
- SIMBAD NGC 2024
- Astronomy Picture of the Day July 13, 1999
- The Flame Nebula on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
Coordinates: 
05h 41m 54s, −01° 51′ 00″
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