Reflection nebula M78, optical image. This nebula (centre left) is a vast cloud of dust that does not shine in its own right, but instead reflects the

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Reflection nebula M78, optical image. This nebula (centre left) is a vast cloud of dust that does not shine in its own right, but instead reflects the light of hot young stars within it. It is just a small part of an enormous cloud of dust, the majority of which is invisible against the black background. Another part of the cloud is catalogued as the reflection nebula NGC 2071 (upper right). The cloud is part of the Orion complex of gas and dust, which lies around 1600 light years from Earth.

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Size: 3686px × 2518px
Photo credit: © ROBERT GENDLER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 2071, astronomical, astronomy, dust, m78, nebula, nebulae, ngc, orion, reflection, space, telescope