Reflection nebulae are clouds of gas and dust that reflect light from nearby stars. "Starlight is scattered through gas and dust like the beam of a flashlight that shines on the fog in the dark and illuminates it," explain the astronomers responsible for Hubble.
This nebula is located about 500 light years distant in the small southern constellation of Chameleon. Also known as BRAN 341C, Ced 112 and GN 11.08.3, the object was discovered in 1900 by the American astronomer DeLisle Stewart. IC 2631 is the brightest nebula in the Chamaeleon Complex, a large region of gas and dust clouds that is home to numerous newborn and still-forming stars . Its brightest star is Alpha Chameleontis.
The object is illuminated by a star called HD 97300, one of the youngest stars, as well as the most massive and brightest, in its neighborhood.
"The new Hubble image captures a part of the reflection nebula IC 2631 that contains a protostar, the hot, dense core of a forming star that is accumulating gas and dust. Eventually, the protostar can gravitationally collect enough matter to begin the nuclear fusion and emit its own energy and starlight ", clarify the experts.
