March 18, 2008
The universe has spent billions of years making things that shine. On your birthday, we celebrate one of its quieter masterpieces.
M78 and Reflecting Dust Clouds in Orion
Birthday · March 18, 2008
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APOD published March 18, 2008. Credit: Martin Pugh. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
An eerie blue glow and ominous columns of dark dust highlight M78 and other bright reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion. The dark filamentary dust not only absorbs light, but also reflects the light of several bright blue stars that formed recently in the nebula. Of the two reflection nebulas pictured above, the more famous nebula is M78, on the upper right, while NGC 2071 can be seen to its lower left. The same type of scattering that colors the daytime sky further enhances the blue color. M78 is about five light-years across and visible through a small telescope. M78 appears above only as it was 1600 years ago, however, because that is how long it takes light to go from there to here. M78 belongs to the larger Orion Molecular Cloud Complex that contains the Great Nebula in Orion and the Horsehead Nebula. Arthur C. Clarke 1917-2008
Image credit: Martin Pugh