Clouds of interstellar dust which reflect the light of nearby stars
The Witch Head reflection nebula (IC2118), about 900 light years from earth, is associated with the bright star Rigel in the constellation Orion. The nebula glows primarily by light reflected from Rigel, located just outside the top right corner of the image. Fine dust in the nebula reflects the light. The blue color is caused not only by Rigel's blue color but because the dust grains reflect blue light more efficiently than red.
In astronomy, reflection nebulae are clouds of interstellar dust which might reflect the light of a nearby star or stars. The energy from the nearby stars is insufficient to ionize the gas of the nebula to create an emission nebula, but is enough to give sufficient scattering to make the dust visible. Thus, the frequency spectrum shown by reflection nebulae is similar to that of the illuminating stars. Among the microscopic particles responsible for the scattering are carbon compounds (e. g. diamond dust) and compounds of other elements such as iron and nickel. The latter two are often aligned with the galactic magnetic field and cause the scattered light to be slightly polarized.[1]
Hubble further distinguished between the emission and reflection nebulae in 1922. Reflectionnebula are usually blue because the scattering is more efficient...
A nebula (Latin for 'cloud, fog'; pl.: nebulae, nebulæ, or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized...
The Iris Nebula (also known as NGC 7023 and Caldwell 4) is a bright reflectionnebula in the constellation Cepheus. The designation NGC 7023 refers to...
Reflection nebula, a nebula that is extended and has no boundaries Reflection seismology or seismic reflection, a method of exploration geophysics Reflection principle...
the naked eye in the night sky. It is also observed to house the reflectionnebula NGC 1432, an HII region. The cluster is dominated by hot blue luminous...
IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape) is an extremely faint reflectionnebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud...
The Horsehead Nebula (also known as Barnard 33 or B33) is a small dark nebula in the constellation Orion. The nebula is located just to the south of Alnitak...
the subsequent planetary nebula (PN) phase. A PPN emits strongly in infrared radiation, and is a kind of reflectionnebula. It is the second-from-the-last...
sunrise Gegenschein – Optical effect of interplanetary dust reflections[1] Reflectionnebula – Clouds of interstellar dust which reflect the light of nearby...
The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated in the Milky Way, being south of Orion's Belt in the constellation...
light. Many nebulae are made up of both reflection and emission components such as the Trifid Nebula. Emission nebula LHA 120-N 55 in the Large Magellanic...
Boomerang Nebula is a protoplanetary nebula located 5,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Centaurus. It is also known as the Bow Tie Nebula and...
Messier 78 or M78, also known as NGC 2068, is a reflectionnebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included...
The Merope Nebula (also known as Tempel's Nebula and NGC 1435) is a diffuse reflectionnebula in the Pleiades star cluster, surrounding the 4th magnitude...
IC 4592 (also known as the Blue Horsehead Nebula) is a reflectionnebula in the Scorpius constellation that is lit by Nu Scorpii. Media related to IC 4592...
The Homunculus Nebula is a bipolar emission and reflectionnebula surrounding the massive star system Eta Carinae, about 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs)...
A dark nebula or absorption nebula is a type of interstellar cloud, particularly molecular clouds, that is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelengths...
IC 405 (also known as the Flaming Star Nebula, SH 2-229, or Caldwell 31) is an emission and reflectionnebula in the constellation Auriga north of the...
2631 or Chamaeleon Cloud is a bright reflectionnebula in the southern constellation of Chamaeleon. The nebula is lit up by a massive pre-main sequence...
nebula makes it both an emission nebula and a reflectionnebula. One hypothesis regarding their interaction is that the nebula and its illuminating star are...
IC 447 is a reflectionnebula in the constellation Monoceros. NGC/IC Data for IC 447 IC 447 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto...
The Ghost Nebula (designated Sh2-136, VdB 141) is a reflectionnebula located in the constellation Cepheus. It lies near the cluster NGC 7023. Looking...
Variable Nebula, only an arcminute west of T Tauri. This was the nebulosity first discovered by Hind in 1852, which is now known to be a reflectionnebula due...
The Egg Nebula (also known as RAFGL 2688 and CRL 2688) is a bipolar protoplanetary nebula approximately 3,000 light-years away from Earth. Its peculiar...
The Red Rectangle Nebula, so called because of its red color and unique rectangular shape, is a protoplanetary nebula in the Monoceros constellation....
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