This design is loosely based on the form of the Horsehead Nebula in the night sky. One side is a close-up while the other side is a distant view. The constellations on the branches are of the horse-related star clusters, Centaurus, Pegasus and Sagittarius.
Bright nebulae are places where stars are born, places of glowing clouds and wisps of gas. The Horsehead Nebula region is perhaps the most beautiful region of the sky. Many different objects are together in a magnificent mix of color and light. Its coincidental appearance as the profile of a horse's head and neck has led to its becoming one of the most familiar astronomical objects. It is, in fact, an extremely dense cloud projecting in front of the ionized gas that provides the pink glow so nicely revealed in this painting.
