The Horsehead Nebula is a small dark nebula located about 1,375 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Orion and is part of the much larger Orion molecular cloud complex. It appears within the southern region of the dense dust cloud known as Lynds 1630, along the edge of the much larger, active star-forming H II region called IC 434. It is one of the most identifiable nebulae because of its resemblance to a horse's head, which is comprised of dense clouds of dust and gas where new stars are being born.