#reflection nebula
An enhanced Scorpius constellation!! If it looked this good to the unaided eye, we might might remember it better, typically appears as a few bright stars in a constellation. To get a spectacular image like this, though, you’d need a good camera, a dark sky, and some sophisticated image processing. The resulting digitally-enhanced image shows many breathtaking features. Diagonal across the right side of the image is part of the Milky Way Galaxy. Visible there are vast clouds of bright stars and long filaments of dust. Rising vertically on the left are dark dust bands known as the Dark River. Several of the bright stars on the left are part of Scorpius’ head and claws, and include the bright star Antares. Numerous red emission nebulas, blue reflection nebulas, and dark filaments are visible as well. Scorpius appears prominently in southern skies after sunset during the middle of the year.
Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Lenz
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
This spooky interstellar scene lies within the dusty expanse of reflection nebula IC 2118 in the constellation Orion, the Hunter. IC 2118 is about 800 light-years from our neighborhood, close to the bright bluish star, Rigel, at Orion’s foot. It is often identified as the Witch Head nebula for its appearance in a wider field of view. Rigel is the source of illumination for IC 2118, and it is just beyond this frame at the upper left. Image Credit & Copyright: Casey Good/Steve Timmons