Reflected Glory: New Image of Nebula Shows Brilliant Starlight as It Ricochets Off Dust Particles

[Judi Lynn]

Reflected Glory: New Image of Nebula Shows Brilliant Starlight as It Ricochets Off Dust Particles


http://images.sciencedaily.com.nyud.net:8090/2011/02/110216082701.jpg

This new image of the reflection nebula Messier 78
was captured using the Wide Field Imager camera
on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La
SillaObservatory, Chile. This colour picture was
created from many monochrome exposures taken
through blue, yellow/green and red filters,
supplemented by exposures through a filter that
isolates light from glowing hydrogen gas. The total
exposure times were 9, 9, 17.5 and 15.5 minutes per
filter, respectively. (Credit: ESO and Igor Chekalin)

ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2011) — The nebula Messier 78 takes centre stage in this image taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, while the stars powering the bright display take a backseat. The brilliant starlight ricochets off dust particles in the nebula, illuminating it with scattered blue light. Igor Chekalin was the overall winner of ESO's Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition with his image of this stunning object.

Messier 78 is a fine example of a reflection nebula. The ultraviolet radiation from the stars that illuminate it is not intense enough to ionise the gas to make it glow -- its dust particles simply reflect the starlight that falls on them. Despite this, Messier 78 can easily be observed with a small telescope, being one of the brightest reflection nebulae in the sky. It lies about 1350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter) and can be found northeast of the easternmost star of Orion's belt.

This new image of Messier 78 from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory is based on data selected by Igor Chekalin in his winning entry to the Hidden Treasures competition <1>.

The pale blue tint seen in the nebula in this picture is an accurate representation of its dominant colour. Blue hues are commonly seen in reflection nebulae because of the way the starlight is scattered by the tiny dust particles that they contain: the shorter wavelength of blue light is scattered more efficiently than the longer wavelength red light.

More:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110216082701.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29

[al bupp]

1. A kick for science! EOM