What does this number measure?
The reference compares the height of about 5 light-years of the dark cloud Barnard 33, not the whole Orion complex or the field of a photograph.
Compare the stated dimensions
The comparison uses the number in each fact sheet: altitude, height, diameter, length or distance, depending on the reference. Two values in metres do not necessarily describe the same property.
Source and limitations
Rounded documentary extent. Boundaries are diffuse and depend on the observations and convention used; this is not a distance from Earth.
Original interpreted scientific illustration, not a photograph. The calibrated height refers to the dark cloud Barnard 33, from base to crest, not the bright background IC 434 or a photograph's field of view. Dust, luminous rims and colours are interpreted; the cloud's boundaries remain diffuse.