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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                 2025 February 13   
      
                               Reflections on VdB 31   
                    Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Marinoni   
      
      Explanation: Riding high in the constellation of Auriga, beautiful,   
      blue VdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog   
      of reflection nebulae. It shares this well-composed celestial still   
      life with dark, obscuring clouds B26, B27, and B28, recorded in Edward   
      E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark markings in the sky. All are these   
      nebulae are interstellar dust clouds. Barnard's dark nebulae block the   
      light from background stars. For VdB 31 the dust preferentially   
      reflects bluish starlight from embedded, hot, variable star AB Aurigae.   
      Exploring the environs of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope   
      has revealed the several million year young star is itself surrounded   
      by a flattened dusty disk with evidence for the ongoing formation of a   
      planetary system. AB Aurigae is about 470 light-years away. At that   
      distance this cosmic canvas would span about eight light-years.   
      
                      Tomorrow's picture: when roses are red   
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