NGC 2170: Celestial Still Life

Explanation: Is this a painting or a photograph? In this beautiful celestial still life composed with a cosmic brush, dusty nebula NGC 2170 shines near the image center. Reflecting the light of nearby hot stars, NGC 2170 is joined by other bluish reflection nebulae, a red emission region, many dark absorption nebulae , and a backdrop of colorful stars . Like the common household items still life painters often choose for their subjects, the clouds of gas, dust, and hot stars pictured here are also commonly found in this setting - a massive, star-forming molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros . The giant molecular cloud , Mon R2 , is impressively close, estimated to be only 2,400 light-years or so away. At that distance, this canvas would be over 40 light-years across.