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Credit & Copyright: Russell Croman
Explanation:
The nebula surrounding bright star S Mon
is filled with dark dust and glowing gas.
The strange shapes
originate from fine interstellar
dust reacting in
complex ways with the energetic light and
hot gas being expelled by the young stars.
The region just below
S Mon, the brightest star in the
above picture, is nicknamed the
Fox Fur Nebula for its color and texture.
The blue glow directly surrounding S Mon results from
reflection,
where neighboring dust reflects light from the bright star.
The more diffuse red glow results from
emission, where starlight
ionizes hydrogen gas.
Pink areas are lit by a combination of the two processes.
S Mon is part of a young
open cluster of stars named
NGC 2264, located about 2500
light years away toward the constellation of
Monoceros, just north of the
Cone Nebula.
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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: nebula - S Mon - dust
Publications with words: nebula - S Mon - dust
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 28 B Galaxies, Stars, and Dust
- APOD: 2025 August 27 B WISPIT 2b: Exoplanet Carves Gap in Birth Disk
- APOD: 2025 August 10 B Zodiacal Road
- APOD: 2025 March 18 B LDN 1235: The Shark Nebula
- Young Stars, Dark Nebulae
- APOD: 2024 September 29 B Seven Dusty Sisters
- The Dark Seahorse of Cepheus