                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2025 February 13

                            Reflections on VdB 31
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Marinoni

   Explanation: Riding high in the constellation of Auriga, beautiful,
   blue VdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog
   of reflection nebulae. It shares this well-composed celestial still
   life with dark, obscuring clouds B26, B27, and B28, recorded in Edward
   E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark markings in the sky. All are these
   nebulae are interstellar dust clouds. Barnard's dark nebulae block the
   light from background stars. For VdB 31 the dust preferentially
   reflects bluish starlight from embedded, hot, variable star AB Aurigae.
   Exploring the environs of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope
   has revealed the several million year young star is itself surrounded
   by a flattened dusty disk with evidence for the ongoing formation of a
   planetary system. AB Aurigae is about 470 light-years away. At that
   distance this cosmic canvas would span about eight light-years.

                   Tomorrow's picture: when roses are red
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