Another bizarre cocktail of gas and dust can be found
next to the star ζ Orionis, the left of the three stars forming Orion's
belt.
A mosaic of dark matter, red glowing hydrogen gas
and dust brightly lit by the blue light of young, massive stars is arranged
in a way an artist couldn't have done better.
A delicate difference in colour can be noticed if one
compares the blueish-red flame nebula to the deeply red horsehead-nebula
at the right lower boundary of the image and the blue nebula left of the
latter. The red nebula consists of pure hydrogen gas, the blue one reflects
the light of the embedded star and the flame nebula is evidently a combination
of both.
The ring around ζ Orionis is not a real object,
but a diffraction pattern.