a-neb22-64031← Collection
images
Fox Fur nebula in Monoceros
- Reference
- a-neb22-64031
- Date
- 2006-05-14
The region around the 4.7 magnitude star S Mon is a fascinating mixture of red fluorescent hydrogen and dark, obscuring dust lanes. Some dust patches are close enough to bright stars to reflect light from them; these appear blue for the same reason that the day-time sky is blue - because some of the interstellar particles preferentially scatter blue light. The dust is mixed with gas and this affects the appearance of the emission nebulae, giving some of the faintest a curious 'fox fur' texture in this enhanced photograph. S Mon is part of a young open cluster of stars named NGC 2264 located about 2600 light years away, just north of the Cone nebula.
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