The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a remarkable image of a reflection nebula known as IRAS 00044+6521.
This Hubble ACS image shows the irregular reflection nebula IRAS 00044+6521. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.
IRAS 00044+6521, also known as IRCO 1971, GN 00.04.4 or PP 1, is an irregular reflection nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is approximately 2,700 light-years from Earth.
Reflection nebulae such as IRAS 00044+6521 are clouds of interstellar dust.
They do not emit any visible light of their own and instead shine via the light from the stars embedded within.
Though nearby stars cannot ionize the nebula’s non-gaseous contents, as with brighter emission nebulae, scattered starlight can make the dust visible.
IRAS 00044+6521 is illuminated by the young pre-main-sequence star HBC 1 at its center. The star is in an immature and adolescent phase of life, hence its classification.
What makes IRAS 00044+6521 more interesting are three Herbig–Haro (HH) objects — known as HH 943, HH 943B and HH 943A — small patches of dust, hydrogen, helium and other gases that form when narrow jets of gas ejected by infant stars collide with clouds of gas and dust.
Lasting just a few thousand years, HH objects rapidly move away from their parent star before dissipating into space.
According to astronomers, HH 943, HH 943B and HH 943A are not visible in this image and located within the nebula itself.
The image includes infrared and optical observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
A version of the image was submitted to NASA by astronomer Judy Schmidt as part of the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures competition.
