Nebula NGC 2626 in Vela | SMARTS Telescope

Nebula NGC 2626 in Vela | SMARTS Telescope

This image is so beautiful that it could almost be a painting, but it is real. It has been produced using observations made at the SMARTS 0.9-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. It features a reflection nebula known as NGC 2626. It lies 3,300 light-years from Earth. 

Reflection nebulae are not luminous themselves, but they reflect light from a nearby star or stars. The light scatters off the dust particles in the nebulae. This often results in reflection nebulae having a blue tint, because blue light scatters more efficiently. This is the same phenomenon that makes the sky on Earth appear blue—the laws of physics are the same throughout our Universe! The red nebulosities are glowing hydrogen gas.

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/SMARTS Consortium

Image Processing: T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: April 14, 2021

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC2626 #ReflectionNebula #Vela #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #CTIO #SMARTSTelescope #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education