Cool Nebula Glows Blue in Stunning Night Sky Photo

News
By
published
NGC 1491 Emission Nebula
NGC1491 is an emission nebula in Perseus. It is about 10,000 light years away. Veteran astrophotographer Bill Snyder shot this photo in early 2013 from Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. He used a Planewave 17 inch telescope with an Apogee U16 camera, as well as a Paramount ME mount to capture the image. (Image credit: Bill Snyder Astrophotography)

Like a beckoning oasis in deep space, nebula NGC 1491 glows beautifully in this skywatching image.

Astrophotographer Bill Snyder captured this image of the nebula NGC 1491 in early 2013 from Heavens Mirror Observatory SRO in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. Snyder used a Planewave 17 inch telescope equipped with an Apogee U16 camera, as well as a Paramount ME mount to take the image.

NGC 1491 is a bright, star-forming nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It’s about 10,000 light-years from Earth. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year. Within this nebula, the blue region is light from a star while the surrounding gas and intense radiation glows from infrared light.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. 

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Nina Sen
Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.