Reflections on the 1970s

Reflections on the 1970s



The 1970s areoften overlooked.In particular, the beautiful grouping of reflection nebula NGC 1977,NGC 1975, and NGC 1973 in Orion areoften overlooked in favor ofthe substantial stellar nursery better known as the Orion Nebula.Found along the sword of Orion just nort of thebright Orion Nebula complex, these nebulae are also associate with Orion's giantmolecular cloud which lies abou 1,500 light-years away, butare dominated by the characteristic blue color of interstellardust reflecting light from hot young stars.In this sharpcolor image a portion of the Orion Nebula appearsalong the bottom border with the cluste of reflection nebulaeat picture center.NGC 1977 stretches across the field just below center,separated from NGC 1973 (above right) and NGC 1975 (above left)by dark regions laced with faint red emission fromhydrogen atoms.Taken together, the dark regions suggest to many theshape of a running man.