Flame Nebula. Coloured infrared image of the Flame Nebula, NGC 2024, an emission nebula and site of star formation. A prominent dark dust lane is seen across the centre of the nebula. Toward the bottom of the frame is NGC 2023, a photodissociation region. The bright blue star is Alnitak (zeta Orionis), part of Orion's Belt. The nebula is part of the Orion Molecular Cloud (OMC), a dense star formation region 1470 light years from Earth. This image was made as part of the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) project.