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Credit & Copyright: Gary Stevens
Explanation:
Why does this starfield photograph resemble an
impressionistic painting?
The effect is created not by
digital trickery but by large amounts of
interstellar dust.
Dust, minute globs rich in
carbon and similar in
size to
cigarette smoke, frequently starts in the
outer atmospheres of large, cool, young stars.
The dust is dispersed as the star dies and grows
as things stick to it in the
interstellar medium.
Dense dust clouds are
opaque to
visible light and can completely hide background stars.
For less dense clouds, the capacity of dust to
preferentially reflect blue starlight becomes important,
effectively blooming the stars blue light out and
marking the surrounding dust.
Nebular gas emissions, typically brightest in
red light,
can combine to form areas seemingly created on an artist's canvas.
Photographed above is roughly one square degree of the nebula
IC 4603 near the bright star
Antares toward the
constellation of
Ophiuchus.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: IC 4603 - Ophiuchus - reflection nebula
Publications with words: IC 4603 - Ophiuchus - reflection nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2026 April 7 Á IC 4592: The Blue Horsehead Reflection Nebula
- APOD: 2026 February 2 Á Orion: The Running Man Nebula
- NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
- APOD: 2026 January 28 Á M78: Reflecting Blue in a Sea of Red
- NGC 7023: The Iris Nebula
- APOD: 2025 September 19 Á The NGC 6914 Complex
- Reflections on VdB 31