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M78 is located in the
constellation of Orion. M78 is the brightest
diffuse/ reflection nebula in the sky. It belongs to the Orion complex, a
large cloud of gas and dust centered on the Orion Nebula M42/M43, and is
about 1,600 light years distant. M78 is the
brightest portion of a vast dust cloud that includes NGC 2071, above- just
left. This nebulae, as well as the commonly named Flame
Nebula, are all associated with the molecular cloud LDN 1630, from Lynds'
Catalogue of Dark Nebula, part of the Orion complex. Extending directly
below M78 is the newly ( re)-found nebula, which is now known
as McNeil's Nebula after its discovery in 2004.
M78 is a cloud of interstellar dust which
shines in the reflected and scattered light of bright blue (early B-type)
stars, among them the brightest, HD 38563A, and second-brightest HDE
38563B, these are around 10th magnitude. M78 exhibits a continuous
spectrum, which resembles that of the bright stars enlightening it. At its
distance about 2800 light-years. It
measures almost 4 light years in extension. |
