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Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern
Explanation:
The 1970s
are sometimes ignored by astronomers,
like this beautiful grouping of reflection nebulae
in Orion - NGC 1977, NGC 1975, and NGC 1973 -
usually overlooked in favor of the substantial glow from the
nearby stellar nursery better known as
the Orion Nebula.
Found along Orion's sword just north
of the bright Orion Nebula complex, these reflection nebulae are
also associated with Orion's giant molecular cloud about
1,500 light-years away, but
are dominated by the characteristic blue color of interstellar
dust reflecting
light from hot young stars.
In this sharp color image
a portion of the Orion Nebula appears
along the bottom border with the cluster
of reflection nebulae
at picture center.
NGC 1977
stretches across the field just below center,
separated from NGC 1973 (above right) and NGC 1975 (above left)
by dark regions laced with faint red emission from
hydrogen atoms.
Taken together, the dark regions suggest the region's popular moniker, the
Running Man Nebula.
At the estimated distance of Orion's dusty molecular cloud this running man
would be about 15 light-years across.
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 1977 - reflection nebula
Publications with words: NGC 1977 - reflection nebula
See also: