Explanation:
Colorful NGC 1579
resembles the better known
Trifid Nebula, but lies much farther north in planet
Earth's sky, in the heroic constellation
Perseus.
About 2,100 light-years away and 3 light-years across,
NGC 1579 is a captivating study in color.
Like the Trifid,
NGC 1579 is a dusty star forming region
providing contrasting emission and reflection
nebulae in the
same field - the characteristic red glow of hydrogen gas
and the blue of reflected starlight.
Also like the Trifid, dark dust
lanes are prominent in the nebula's central regions.
In fact, obscuring dust is pervasive in
NGC 1579,
drastically dimming the visible light from the
massive, young, hot stars still
embedded
in the cosmic cloud.
