Explanation:
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.
The giant
molecular
cloud, Mon R2, is impressively close,
estimated
to be only 2,400 light-years or so away.
At that distance, this canvas would be about 15 light-years across.
