Reflections on VdB 31
Reflections on VdB 31
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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.
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