This colorful image features Messier 78 ("Casper the Friendly Ghost" Nebula), a reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion. A reflection nebula is created when light from a star is scattered or reflected off a nearby dust cloud. M78 is located approximately 1,600 light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.
M78 was discovered in 1780 by Charles Messier’s colleague Pierre Méchain. It is best seen in January. M78 can be found in binoculars and small telescopes, but telescopes 8 inches or larger will reveal more detail in the nebula. M78 has the distinction of appearing very comet like, with one side of the nebula flaring away like a comet’s tail. This has fooled many comet hunters into believing they have made a new discovery.
Description credit:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/messier-78"Casper" is near the center and his face is upside down in my image.
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