[Telepathic Intruder]

Probably due to it being in infrared. The small portion illuminated by the Trapezium Cluster is just the most visual part of the much larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. So depending on the wavelength and exposure setting it can appear very different.

[dr_lew]

Well, it's pretty heavily processed. I found in addition to April 2013, this one from March 2013, which has a similar color scheme to the new one but is more recognizable by the general shape. The January 2015 caption says it is a "wide view" and it really is, as I tried to show with this animated gif:

Note the "roaring lion" on the upper right, facing down at the center. It is somewhat displaced and distorted between the two images. My overlay is only scaled and rotated. The overlay rectangle is the entire March 2013 APOD.

It appears to me that some of the stars in front of the "lion" are in a pattern greatly reduced in size for January 2015 ... evidence to me of some very artful processing.