Witch Head Nebula

Witch's Head Nebula Portrait Image IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula glows primarily by light reflected from Rigel. Rigel is located about one photo-width off the image to the right. Fine dust in the nebula reflects the light. The blue color is caused not only by Rigel's blue color but because the dust grains reflect blue light more efficiently than red. The same physical process causes Earth's daytime sky to appear blue, although the scatterers here are molecules of nitrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies about 1000 light-years away. Publisher's Note:This image is a portrait orientation. Please specify at checkout if the landscape orientation is desired.This is also one of our most popular image on our site.