Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 in Orion | Hubble

Reflection Nebula NGC 1999 in Orion | Hubble

NGC 1999 is a dust-filled bright nebula with a vast hole of empty space represented by a black patch of sky, as can be seen in this photograph. It is a reflection nebula, and shines from the light of the variable star V380 Orionis.

Distance: 1,500 light years

Just weeks after NASA astronauts repaired the Hubble Space Telescope in December 1999, the Hubble Heritage Project snapped this picture of NGC 1999, a nebula in the constellation Orion. The Heritage astronomers, in collaboration with scientists in Texas and Ireland, used Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) to obtain this color image.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)

Release Date: March 2, 2000

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #OrionNebula #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #NGC1999 #StarV380Orionis #Messier42 #M42 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #WFPC2 #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education