Nebula M78 in Orion - M78 nebula in Orion - The reflexion nebula M78 (NGC...

Nebula M78 in Orion - M78 nebula in Orion - The reflexion nebula M78 (NGC 2068) is located about 1300 years - light from Earth and extends over 4 years - light. Image obtained with the 2.2 meter MPG/ESO telescope at the La Silla Observatory. Messier 78 is a fine example of a reflection nebula. The ultraviolet radiation from the stars that illuminate it is not intense enough to ionise the gas to make it glow - - its dust particles simply reflect the starlight that falls on them. Despite this, Messier 78 can easily be observed with a small telescope, being one of the brightest reflection nebulae in the sky. It lies about 1350 light - years away in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter) and can be found northeast of the easternmost star of Orion's belt. Two bright stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are the main powerhouses behind Messier 78. However, the nebula is home to many more stars, including a collection of about 45 low mass, young stars (less than 10 million years old) in which the cores are still too cool for hydrogen fusion to start, known as T Tauri stars. Studying T Tauri stars is important for understanding the early stages of star formation and how planetary systems are created. Remarkably, this complex of nebulae has also changed significantly in the last ten years. In February 2004 the experienced amateur observer Jay McNeil took an image of this region with a 75 mm telescope and was surprised to see a bright nebula - - the prominent fan shaped feature near the bottom of this picture - - where nothing was seen on most earlier images. This object is now known as McNeil's Nebula and it appears to be a highly variable reflection nebula around a young star. Image taken with the MPG/ESO 2.2 - metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory