Here is your weekly reminder of Psalm 19 — the Horsehead Nebula.

The Horsehead is one of the best-known nebulae, owing to its distinctive shape in the likeness of — you guessed it — a horse’s head. This is one small part of a region of ongoing star formation in the great Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The pink color in the cloud is a result of hydrogen gas excited by the ultraviolet light from a nearby star.

Most images of the Horsehead Nebula show it in visible light; the above image is in infrared, which allows us to peer into the inner structure of the cloud. Visible light is blocked by dusty gas, but longer wavelength infrared light can penetrate the dust.

Image credit:NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team.