Stardust in Perseus

Explanation: This cosmic expanse of dust, gas, and stars covers some 4 degrees on the sky in the heroic constellation Perseus . Centered in the gorgeous skyscape is the dusty blue reflection nebula NGC 1333 , about 1,000 light-years away. At that estimated distance, the field of view is nearly 70 light-years across. Other reflection nebulae are scattered around, along with remarkable dark dust nebulae and the faint reddish glow of hydrogen gas . These dust and gas clouds lie near the edge of a large molecular cloud . Themselves telltale signs of star-forming regions, they tend to hide the newly formed stars and young stellar objects or protostars from prying optical telescopes. Collapsing due to self-gravity , the protostars form around dense cores embedded in the molecular cloud.