In astronomy, reflection nebulae are clouds of dust which are simply reflecting the light of a nearby star or stars. The nearby star or stars are not hot enough to cause ionization in the gas of the nebula like in emission nebulae but are bright enough to give sufficient scattering to make the dust visible. Thus, the frequency spectrum shown by reflection nebulae is similar to that of the illuminating stars. Among the microscopic particles responsible for the scattering are carbon compounds (e. g. diamond dust) and compounds of other elements, in particular iron and nickel. The latter two are often aligned with the galactic magnetic field and cause the scattered light to be slightly polarized (Kaler, 1998). The distinction between these two types of nebulae was done by Hubble in 1922.

They are usually blue because the scattering is more efficient for blue light than red (this is the same scattering process that gives us blue skies and red sunsets).

Reflection nebulae and emission nebulae are often seen together and are sometimes both referred to as diffuse nebulae. An example of this is the Orion Nebula.

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RT @nemski: Hubble Advent Calendar: Beautiful picture of a reflection nebulae http://bit.ly/7DHrCF
LabSpaces (Brian Krueger) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:56:41 -0000
RT @nemski: Hubble Advent Calendar: Beautiful picture of a reflection nebulae http://bit.ly/7DHrCF
Hubble Advent Calendar: Beautiful picture of a reflection nebulae http://bit.ly/7DHrCF
nemski (David Nemeth) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:47:50 -0000
Hubble Advent Calendar: Beautiful picture of a reflection nebulae http://bit.ly/7DHrCF
#astronomy. Hubble photo 10, ghostly reflection nebulae in the Pleiades star cluster. http://bit.ly/6PO5GT
kashfarooq (Kash Farooq) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:43:04 -0000
#astronomy. Hubble photo 10, ghostly reflection nebulae in the Pleiades star cluster. http://bit.ly/6PO5GT

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