Credit & Copyright: Daniel López,  
IAC  
  
  
Explanation:
Like delicate cosmic petals, these clouds of interstellar dust and gas  
have blossomed 1,300 light-years away in the fertile  
star fields of the constellation Cepheus.  
  
Sometimes called the Iris Nebula and dutifully  
cataloged as  
NGC 7023,  
this is not the only nebula in the  
sky to evoke the imagery of flowers.  
  
Still, this  
beautiful  
digital image shows off the Iris Nebula's range of  
colors and symmetries in impressive detail.   
  
Within the Iris, dusty nebular material surrounds a hot,  
young star.  
  
The dominant color of the brighter reflection nebula is blue,  
characteristic  
of dust grains reflecting starlight.  
  
Central  
filaments of the dusty clouds glow with a faint reddish  
photoluminesence as some dust grains  
effectively  
convert the star's invisible  
ultraviolet  
radiation to visible red light.  
  
Infrared observations  
indicate that this nebula may contain  
complex carbon molecules known as  
PAHs.  
  
As shown here, the bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula is about six  
light-years across.   
  
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| Публикации с ключевыми словами:
NGC 7023 - reflection nebula - young stars - Туманность Ирис - отражательные туманности - молодые звезды Публикации со словами: NGC 7023 - reflection nebula - young stars - Туманность Ирис - отражательные туманности - молодые звезды | |
| См. также: Все публикации на ту же тему >> | |

 
