... UNIVERSE ... ... THE RAINBOW NEBULA DUST IN A FIELD. ... ... What is blooming in the field of dark interstellar dust? Iris Nebula. The striking blue Iris Nebula is created by the light from the bright star SAO 19158 reflected by a dense patch of dust usually obscure. Not only that the star is very blue but its blue light is preferentially reflected by dust, the same effect that causes the blue sky of Earth. The brown color of the omnipresent dust is caused in part by photoluminescence: the powder turns red in ultraviolet light. The Iris nebula, cataloged as NGC 7023, is often studied by the unusual prevalence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the same complex molecules that are released into the Earth during the incomplete combustion of forest fires. The bright blue portion of the Iris Nebula spans about six light years. The Iris Nebula showing the image is about 1,300 light years away and can be found with a small telescope in the constellation Cepheus. ...
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 05:11:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015