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Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler
Explanation:
Interstellar dust grains
often find themselves in a reflective "mood".
Near a bright star, clouds of these dust particles scatter
short wavelengths of visible starlight
more readily than
long wavelengths, producing lovely blue reflection nebulae.
Nine of the more spectacular examples of these dusty, blue
stellar
neighborhoods
have been assembled here by
astrophotographer
Rob Gendler.
From left to right starting with the top row are
NGC 1977 in Orion,
IC2118 (the Witch Head),
and M78 also in Orion.
Across the middle row are,
M20 (Trifid),
NGC 2264 in Monoceros,
and
IC405 (Flaming Star Nebula).
Along the bottom are
NGC 2023 (near
the Horsehead),
NGC 7023 (Iris Nebula),
and finally bright star Merope surrounded by
a veil of dust (NGC 1435).
Merope is one of the seven sisters of the Pleiades.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: reflection nebula
Publications with words: reflection nebula
See also: