Infrared Image of Nebula Messier 78 Reveals Hidden Stars
http://time.com/4516712/infrared-telescope-nebula-space/
A new image of Messier 78, a nebula located about 1,600 light-years away in the constellation of Orion,
reveals stars and other features that in previous observations, had been hidden by cosmic dust.
Messier 78 is what’s known as a reflection nebula. In visible light, images of the formation, like those taken by the ESO’s Wide Field Imager,
look like a swirling, luminous, blue cloud, streaked with dark ribbons. Light from the stars at its center reflect off the dust and scatter
the light. The new image from ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), sees near-infrared light, which passes through
the dust, allowing the stars within to shine through. (See comparison images below.) “The telescope”, writes ESO, “is like a giant dustbuster
that lets astronomers probe deep into the heart of the stellar environment.”
