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Credit & Copyright: Robert G. Lyons
(Robservatory)
Explanation:
What part of Orion is this?
Just north of the famous
Orion Nebula is a picturesque
star
forming region in
Orion's Sword that contains a lot of intricate
dust -- some of which appears blue
because it reflects the light of
bright embedded stars.
The region's popular name is the
Running Man Nebula because,
looked at from the right, part of the brown dust appears to be running legs.
Cataloged as
Sharpless 279,
the reflection nebula is not only part of the
constellation of
Orion, but part of the greater
Orion molecular cloud complex.
Light from the Running Man's bright stars, including
42 Orionis, the bright star closest to the
featured image center, is slowly
destroying and reshaping the surrounding dust,
which will likely be
completely gone in about 10 million years.
The nebula spans about 15
light years and lies about 1,500 light years away.
Jigsaw Nebula:
Astronomy Puzzle of the Day
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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: Orion - reflection nebula
Publications with words: Orion - reflection nebula
See also: