This nebula is shaped like a fan, with the star glowing white in the bottom left. Trailing upwards away from it, like a veil, the gas and dust is bluish-white closest to the star, then turns to a light blue farther away, and then to a deep turquoise at the ends, which are on the top right.

C46 (NGC 2261)

This fan-shaped cloud of gas and dust shines by the light of a bright star at the bottom end of the nebula. The nebula is lit up by the massive, young star dubbed R Monocerotis (R Mon for short). Astronomers believe that dense knots of opaque dust pass close to R Mon and cast moving shadows onto the reflecting dust seen in the rest of the nebula.

Credits: NASA/ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)