Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2026 January 28 [2]In a starfield glowing red, several features stand out. On the right is a diffuse white band, and on the upper right is some dark dust. Most prominently, though, are two blue structures in the center, one of which has a dark band running across near the middle. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. M78: Reflecting Blue in a Sea of Red Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Daniel McCauley Explanation: In the vast [4]Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. [5]Pictured here in the center are two of the most prominent [6]reflection nebulas - [7]dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded [8]stars. The more famous nebula is [9]M78, in the image center, cataloged over 200 years ago. To its upper left is the lesser known [10]NGC 2071. Astronomers continue to [11]study these [12]reflection nebulas to [13]better understand how interior stars form. The overall [14]red glow is from diffuse [15]hydrogen gas that covers much of the [16]Orion complex that spans much of the [17]constellation of Orion. Nearby in the [18]greater complex, which lies about 1,500 [19]light years away, are the [20]Orion Nebula, the [21]Horsehead Nebula, and [22]Barnard's Loop -- partially seen here as the white band on the upper left. Almost Hyperspace: [23]Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy, [41]Accessibility, [42]Notices; A service of: [43]ASD at [44]NASA / [45]GSFC, [46]NASA Science Activation & [47]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2601/M78Red_McCauley_2048.jpg 3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/141763086@N06/ 4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161204.html 5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/141763086@N06/54983729233/ 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/reflection_nebulae.html 7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990509.html 8. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_78 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_2071 11. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001ApJ...547..311H 12. https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/reflection-nebula/ 13. http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5hfctHc7i1rrgr1no1_1280.jpg 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen-alpha 15. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/deep-hydrogen/ 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070125.html 17. http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/ori/ 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151123.html 19. https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/what-is-a-light-year/ 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250420.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251210.html 22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard's_Loop 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260127.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.com/feed.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260128 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260129.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/ 43. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/ 45. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 46. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 47. http://www.mtu.edu/