Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Monoceros (Mon)  ·  Contains:  Hubble's variable neb  ·  NGC 2261
NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula, Gary Imm
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NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula

NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula, Gary Imm
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NGC 2261 - Hubble's Variable Nebula

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Description

This object is a variable reflection nebula located 2500 light years away in the constellation of Monoceros. The nebula, one light-year across, is a fan-shaped cloud of gas and dust which is illuminated by a 10th magnitude star (R Monocerotis) on the left side of the nebula.

This object is unique because its light pattern changes with time. Dense concentrations of dust near the star cast shadows out into the nebula. As the dust moves the shadows change, giving rise to the brightness variations first observed by Dr. Edwin Hubble.

This object is sometimes compared to a comet, but it looks much prettier than that to me. The illuminated bright nebulosity varies in color from purple at the top to blue in the middle to brown at the bottom. I also like the sharp edges at the left side of the nebula and how the object looks like it is on fire, as if the bright star is burning and a wind is blowing the resulting smoke to the right and diffusing it.

I find it very curious that this nebula is so asymmetric. Scientists speculate that a symmetrical counterpart of this fan-shaped nebula exists, but that we cannot see it because it is heavily obscured from our view by dust. It doesn't appear that way to me and I can't really make sense of this unique shape.

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