The Gecko Nebula

In the faint constellation of the Lizard, an interplay of shadow and light traces a reptile's head with a pointed snout. Astrophotographers saw a gecko in it, and the nickname stuck, even though astronomers know the region as LBN 437.

The pale, grey-white "head", veined with red, is a reflection nebula: fine dust scattering the light of a young star still being born, V375 Lacertae. This Herbig Ae/Be star has yet to finish forming; it shines strongly in the hydrogen line and even launches jets of matter that shape an X-shaped Herbig-Haro object, catalogued HH398.

The red veil spreading across the field is ionized hydrogen: the northern edge of Sh2-126, the Great Lacerta Nebula. This gas glows under the radiation of a hot, massive star, 10 Lacertae, a member of the Lacerta OB1 stellar association. It is the dust of that same Lacerta molecular cloud, lit by reflection, that shapes the animal's outline.

The distance of the whole complex is still debated: Gaia measurements of the ionizing star place the region around 1,800 light-years, while published estimates range from roughly 1,200 to 2,900 light-years. This image represents 7 h 43 min of exposure from Texas.