Named the Horsehead Nebula for obvious reasons, this vast cloud of dust and gas located next to Orion’s Belt is a breeding ground for new stars. Infrared light is used to highlight the delicate billows of dust clouds surrounding baby stars. Photographed from the Hubble Space Telescope and released by the Space Telescope Science Institute.
For more amazing space images, see The Best Astronomy and Space Pictures of 2013 | Slate.