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| Nebula NGC 1999 is a cloud of gas and dust some 1500 light years distant toward the constellation Orion. Nebula NGC 1999 is a "reflection nebula," which does not itself emit visible light but rather reflects visible light of a nearby star. In this case, the source of illumination is the bright, young star V380 Orionis, which is visible just to the left of the center of the image. The dark, "tilted T-shaped" cloud visible just to the right of the center of the image is a "Bok globule," which is a dense cloud of molecular gas and dust that may be forming new stars. The Bok globule appears black because it is so dense that it blocks almost all light from the background reflection nebula. Nebula NGC 1999 is close to the Orion Nebula, which is an active site of star formation. |
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