Title:[0245] A reflection nebula in Orion, NGC 1977 Caption:This scattered cluster of nebulous stars is just half a degree north of the much more spectacular Orion Nebula and because of this has been largely ignored. The group of stars here is visible to the unaided eye as a single object, the northernmost "star" in the sword-handle of Orion. Most of the blue nebulosity is starlight scattered by dust, while some stars are sufficiently hot to excite wisps of hydrogen that pervade the region. These colors combine to make magenta, and create a distinctive and unusual nebula, quite unlike the adjacent Orion nebula. Copyright:(c) 1984 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0272] The Reflection Nebula in the Pleiades Cluster Caption: Copyright:(c) 1985 Royal Observatory Edinburgh Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0531] Corona Australis reflection nebula, NGC 6726-7 Caption:This spectacular reflection nebula is the result of a few bright stars caught up in a large, dusty cloud. The peculiar yellowish curved streak near the two bright reflection nebulae seems to be the source of two compact but distinctly red patches, which are Herbig-Haro objects, often the first visible signs of star formation occurring deep inside dark clouds. These compact nebulae are ejected from proto-stars during the later stages of star formation and sometimes appear in pairs, moving in opposite directions from the hidden star-forming region. Copyright:(c) 1992 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:

Title:[0532] The Reflection Nebula in NGC 6188 Caption:Sometimes the dust that hides so much of our galaxy from us forms thin veils or streaks, or, as here, dense clouds, obscuring what is probably a more or less uniform field of faint stars. Such old stars appear slightly yellow on color pictures. The patch of dust that crosses this photograph must be illuminated by energetic radiation from stars that are much hotter than those in the background because hydrogen, which is associated with the dust, has been excited into a vivid red fluorescence by absorbing the invisible ultraviolet light. Copyright:(c) 1992 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:

Title:[0234] A mass-loss star and its nebula Caption:The nebulosity around this cool star is from light reflected by grains of dust surrounding it. The dust originates from the star and is believed to consist mainly of particles of silica condensed from its outer layers. The rate of mass loss is much higher than normal in stars of this kind and is sufficient to produce the reflection nebula IC 2220. The stellar nature of the central object is revealed by the cross-like spikes extending from it. These are artifacts due to structures within the telescope. Copyright:(c) 1980 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0142] The Horsehead Nebula and NGC 2024 Caption:This well-known dark nebula is one of the best-known images in astronomy, probably because of its chance likeness to the head of a horse. The distinctive outline is an extension of a substantial cloud of dark obscuring material filling the lower part of the picture; it hides the light of stars beyond. The outer surface of the dusty gas is illuminated by a bright star off the top of the picture which causes the gas there to glow, silhouetting the horsehead shape. A bright star is partially enveloped in the dust cloud and its scattered light is seen as a blue reflection nebula. Copyright:(c) 1984 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[1123] Hubble's Variable Nebula in Monoceros Caption:Hubble's Variable Nebula, NGC 2261, in the constellation Monoceros. The reflection nebula is shaped like a comet and lit by a variable star in its "head". Variations in brightness across the nebula are probably due to internal clouds passing between the star and cloud. The nebula is located 2,600 light years away and has a diameter of seven light years. Kitt Peak National Observatory 0.9-meter telescope photograph. Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[0231] Nebulosity in Sagittarius, NGC 6589-90 Caption:In the direction of the constellation of Sagittarius are huge clouds of interstellar dust. The patchy nature of the obscuration can be seen from the uneven distribution of background stars across this picture. Light from bright stars within the dust produces the two blue reflection nebulae (NGC 6589 and 6590) while a large, almost transparent cloud of hydrogen, mixed with traces of dust, glows with a characteristic magenta hue over most of the field of view. Copyright:(c) 1981 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0260] NGC 6559 and IC 1274-5, nebulosities in Sagittarius Caption:This dusty region is almost certainly associated with the brighter and better-known Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae, which are nearby in the sky. The soft red glow of fluorescent hydrogen is evidence that there are young hot stars associated with the dusty clouds. These bright stars also illuminate the tiny particles, producing blue reflection nebulae bordering some of the emission regions. The dust is also evident in silhouette, both as sinuous dark lanes winding through the luminous gas and as the dark patches obscuring the ancient, yellow stars that populate the central parts of the Milky Way. Copyright:(c) 1979 Royal Observatory Edinburgh Credit:D. F. Malin

Title:[0529] The head of CG 4, a faint cometary globule Caption:Cometary globules are isolated, relatively small clouds of gas and dust within the Milky Way. The head of the nebula is itself opaque, but glows because it is illuminated by light from very hot stars nearby. Their energy is gradually destroying the dusty head of the globule, sweeping away tiny particles that scatter the starlight as a faint, bluish reflection nebula. This particular globule also shows a faint red glow, probably from excited hydrogen, and seems about to devour an edge-on spiral galaxy, which in reality is millions of light years away, far beyond CG 4. Copyright:(c) 1992 Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, photograph by David Malin Credit:

Title:[0052] The Milky Way south of Messier 17 Caption:The French astronomer Charles Messier (1730-1817) listed over 100 objects he saw as nebulous to avoid confusing them with comets, which were his main interest. Three of Messier's objects appear in this picture. A little below the bright red emission nebula M17 is M18, a group of stars which is only conspicuous because, like M17, it is set in a relatively dark region of the Milky Way. The rich cloud of stars more or less in the middle of the photograph was listed by Messier as number 24 in his catalogue and it contains the open cluster NGC 6603, while towards the bottom of this field is a small group of nebulosities that Messier either did not see or which he considered to be too faint to interfere with his comet seeking. These are the two blue reflection nebulae NGC 6589-90 and the emission nebulae IC 1283-4. Copyright:(c) 1987 Royal Observatory Edinburgh Credit:D. F. Malin