Horsehead Nebula

American

noun

a dark nebula in the constellation Orion, composed of opaque cosmic dust and resembling the head of a horse.

Horsehead nebula British

/ ˈhɔːsˌhɛd /

noun

astronomy a dark nebula lying in the constellation of Orion and resembling the head of a horse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Rising from turbulent waves of dust and gas is the Horsehead Nebula, otherwise known as Barnard 33, which resides roughly 1,300 light-years away.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the sharpest infrared images to date of a zoomed-in portion of one of the most distinctive objects in our skies, the Horsehead Nebula.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024

To showcase their new mission, the ESA has released its first full-colour images that include the Horsehead Nebula and a galaxy located on the other side of our Milky Way galaxy.

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2023

Euclid also took fresh photos of the Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion, a dramatic nursery of baby stars made famous by Hubble.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 7, 2023

It was a medium ship of five thousand tons burden, designed for service in the Horsehead Nebula region.

From The Pirates of Ersatz by Freas, Kelly

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023