Zátiší s NGC 2170

Uznání a copyright: Stefan Seip

In this beautiful celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines at the upper left. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae and a compact red emission region against a backdrop of stars. Like the common household items still life painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars pictured here are also commonly found in this setting - a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros. Tento obří molekulární mrak, Mon R2, je překvapivě blízko, odhaduje se, že je jen asi 2400 světelných let daleko. V této vzdálenosti by mělo toto plátno rozměr asi 15 světelných let.