![]() You know it’s there, but you can’t see it very well. ![]() Think of it like a ray of sunshine on a spider’s web. Instead, the cosmic dust cloud becomes visible by reflecting starlight rather than emitting its own. The surrounding stars are not hot enough to excite or ionize the cloud’s hydrogen atoms in reflection nebulae. These nebulae are some of the interstellar space’s most colorful items. What is the Difference between Emission and Reflection Nebulae?Įmission nebulae emit light from within themselves when high-energy photons from nearby stars ionize and “light up” the cloud’s gases. This is because the red light penetrates the atmosphere more deeply, while the blue light scatters and dissipates. That’s when the light path through the atmosphere is longer. As a result, we only see redder colors in the sky during sunrise and sunset. Like the Earth’s sky, the dust particles reflect blue light most efficiently. For example, the cloud’s typical dust particle size is close to blue light’s wavelength, so the blue color deepens. The blueness comes from the slight polarization. The scattered light has a color spectrum similar to the star but bluer. Reflection Nebula ColorsĪ reflection nebula is born when a nearby star’s light reflects off a dust and gas cloud. Advanced telescopes, like the Hubble, take amazing images of nebulae, so we can continue learning more about them. Reflection Nebulae Characteristicsīecause of their many similarities, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between galaxies, star clusters, and nebulae. He also recognized and documented their association with and illumination by nearby stars. However, it wasn’t until later in the century that astronomers detailed their observations of nebulae.Įdwin Hubble helped develop classifications of nebulae based on the light spectra they produce. In 1610, Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Pieresc discovered the Orion Nebula. That’s when Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi made the first reference to what scientists later called a nebula. ![]() In 964, a Persian astronomer noted “a little cloud” near the Andromeda Galaxy. Sometimes the clouds form in the chaotic aftermath of supernovas (a dying star’s explosion.) Other nebulae act as star nurseries, becoming the region where new stars are born. These vast, cold clouds consist of dust and ionized gasses like hydrogen and helium. Interstellar space holds some fascinating objects. What is the Difference between Emission and Reflection Nebulae?.
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