The Witch Head Nebula
Lit up by the bright star Rigel in Orion, the “Witch Head Nebula” is a cloud of dust that reflect blue a little bit more. Unlike emission nebulas that emit their own light from ionized gases, this just reflects the light of Orion – although there *is* some ionized Hydrogen in the background, which you’ll find throughout this part of the sky.
First let’s have a look just in natural light:
If we add in some of that Hydrogen gas collected through a narrowband filter, some of that red ionized light becomes visible:
And here’s an earlier take, with more exaggerated colors and a little more artsy.
