Post by glactus on May 5, 2009 3:11:28 GMT
The Reflecting Dust Clouds of Orion
In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured above are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas - dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars.
The more famous nebula is M78, on the upper right, cataloged over 200 years ago. On the lower left is the lesser known NGC 2071.
Astronomers have an excellent subject so close and continue to study these reflection nebulas to better understand how interior stars form.
The Orion complex lies about 1500 light-years distant, contains the Orion and Horsehead nebulas, pictured just above, which covers much of the constellation of Orion. Magnitude is variable at + or - 4.0
Credits: These are NASA images
