APOD 3.8

This picture is titled NGC 1333 Stardust, and it shows the reflection nebula of NGC 1333. The blue hues emanating from the center are caused by starlight reflected by dust. NGC 1333 lies at the edge of a large, star-forming molecular cloud, one thousand light years away from the constellation Perseus. It shows the dusty region with touches of red emission that come from Herbig-Haro objects, jets and shocked glowing gas emanating from recently formed stars. This nebula contains hundreds of young stars, each less than a million years old. Most of these are still hidden from view by stardust. I love the glowing, sparkling stars. This nebula is cool because it's probably similar to the one in which our own Sun formed.