NGC 4601- Reflection Nebula in Scorpius

Image Description: IC 4601 is a reflection nebula which is located about 420 light-years away in Scorpius.

The bluish reflection nebula with the two embedded double stars is IC 4601 (vdB 102,vdB 103), the yellowish reflection nebula is vdB 101. The two reflection nebulae appear so different due to the temperature differences of the illuminating stars.

These types of nebulae are called “reflection,” because they reflect the light of nearby stars.

IC 4601 is illuminated by the intense radiation of the stars present in its vicinity, among which the most brilliant star HD 147010, and the two stars of a binary system known as HD 147013, which are all blue giants.

The dust of IC 4601 contains the heavy elements that planets are made of and plays a major role in the creation of new stars. There probably are baby stars wrapped in these blankets of dust.

Taken with CDK 24 from El Sauce Chile

Data: SWOS group Mazlin,Parker,Forman,Hanson

Image Processing: Mark Hanson

Copyright: Mark Hanson