A gorgeous collectionof dust and gas nebulae in th NorthernMilky Way graces the high and far off constellation of Cepheus.With colorsbased on astronomical filters, this close up of the regionhighlights stars embedded i curiously shaped cosmic clouds.Near the central faint (9th magnitude) star in the image,dust clouds reflect the starlight creating abluish reflection nebula cataloge in 1966as VDB 142.The area's bright reddish emission nebulaeindicate the presence ofclouds of atomic hydrogen gas.Stripped of electrons by invisible ultraviole light, the hydrogenatoms emit their characteristic visible re light a electrons andatoms recombine.Sweptback clouds of obscuring dust dark nebulae,are silhouetted against the bright background.Representing the stuff stars are made of, al thesenebulae lie withinthe large young star cluster comple IC 1396,3,000 light years from Earth.
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