Figure 8-3: R I V U X G
New Stars Forming from Gas and Dust Unlike Figure 8-2, which depicts an old star that is ejecting material into space, this image shows young stars in the constellation Orion (the Hunter) that have only recently formed from a cloud of gas and dust. The bluish, wispy appearance of the cloud (called NGC 1973-1975-1977) is caused by starlight reflecting off interstellar dust grains within the cloud (see Box 5-4). The grains are made of heavy elements produced by earlier generations of stars.
New Stars Forming from Gas and Dust Unlike Figure 8-2, which depicts an old star that is ejecting material into space, this image shows young stars in the constellation Orion (the Hunter) that have only recently formed from a cloud of gas and dust. The bluish, wispy appearance of the cloud (called NGC 1973-1975-1977) is caused by starlight reflecting off interstellar dust grains within the cloud (see Box 5-4). The grains are made of heavy elements produced by earlier generations of stars.
(David Malin/Anglo-Australian Observatory)