This image may not be super dramatic, but it is representative of one of my favorite things about this passion. In a recent wide field shot of the belt stars in Orion, I noticed a little “blob” of reflecting dust above the central star Alnilam. Intrigued, I decided to take a look at higher magnification with one of my bigger scopes. I do these things without foreknowledge of how it will look or researching what the object is. Even in cases where it has been well studied, this stokes the feeling of exploration in me. As often as not, I end up looking into something that hasn’t been closely observed to the level where there are well documented details about it. Our cosmos is so vast, and I love the feeling of “witnessing” and bringing some focus to objects such as this.
This is IC 426, a dense and isolated little cloud of interstellar raw material in which new stars and systems are likely forming just beyond our ability to see. From the outside, we see an evolving cloud that is lightyears across, illuminated by the dim light reflecting off of it from nearby stars.
How simple. How complex. How amazing.