Reflective nebulae are often found in areas where star formations are taking place. Reflective nebulae are often part of an ongoing star formation process. The color of the reflective nebula is due to the reflection of the dust particles behind the stars. The size of the dust cloud can determine partly why certain reflective nebulae are brighter than others. The reflection of light also depends on where the dust is present. In my image the dust is behind the nebula and creates the blue color through the reflection.
In the center of this image is my bright nebula. Surrounding the reflection nebula is a swirl of stars almost exceeding the size of my nebula. As the stars age they will move farther from the nebula. There happen to be hundreds of star “clusters”, like my images shows, in with our galaxy. Most of the stars among the thousands that can be surrounding the nebula are going to be younger than those that have moved away from the nebula. The stars will lose their amount of reflected light as they become more distance from the dust particles. The stars surrounding my nebula could have formed at the same time of the nebula during the formation process. The color of my reflective nebula differs from other nebulae that have dark spots that do not reflect any color, and those that reflect red. Mine reflects blue due to the dust particles and reflects onto the nearby stars creating its beauty.
References:
Mendez, Javier. Stars, Stellar Systems, and Nebulae. Public Relations Officer, 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. >http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/science/stars.html
McDonald, David, and Stuart Robbins. Nebulea. ThinkQuest, 21 Jan. 2006. Web. 22 Nov. 2011. >http://burro.cwru.edu/stu/advanced/stars_nebulae.html
| Right Ascension (J2000) | 21:42:59 |
| Declination (J2000) | 66:06:08 |
| Filters used | B (Blue), C (Clear), R (Red), V (Green) |
| Exposure time per filter | B, V, R, C each (60s x 5) |
| Date observed | October 12, 2011 |
