The Iris

In the middle of an ocean of dark dust, a blue flower seems to bloom: the Iris Nebula. It owes its colour to a young hot star nestled at its heart, whose light it reflects as a petal would reflect that of the sun. This is what we call a reflection nebula: it does not shine on its own, it reflects.

The Iris lies about 1,300 light-years away, in the constellation of Cepheus, and spans some 6 light-years. But this deep image does not stop at the flower: all around, clouds of dark dust block the light of the background stars and give the scene its inky depth.

To the right keeps watch an even more discreet figure, almost eerie: the Ghost Nebula (vdB 141). It too reflects the light of nearby stars, and in its densest folds, new stars may one day ignite. Two reflection nebulae, a flower and a ghost, set on the same field of dust.