IC 2631 in the dust

[Geoff45 (Geoff)]

This was taken at the last Wiruna session.

https://www.astrobin.com/8aalro/

IC 2631 is a blue reflection nebula in the far southern constellation of Chamaeleon. It surrounds a young T Tauri star HD973000, about 500 light years away. It lies in the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex which is a large star forming region that includes the Chamaeleon I, Chamaeleon II, and Chamaeleon III dark clouds. The Chamaeleon Complex occupies nearly all of the constellation Chamaeleon and overlaps into Apus, Musca, Carina and Octans. The dust partially or nearly totally obscures the stars within and behind it.

Details:
Exposure 12.5 hours LRGB
Telescope Planewave 12.5" CDK
Camera FLI Proline 16803

Mount AP900

FOV 49' x 49'
Processing PixInsight

[ChrisV (Chris)]

That's really nice Geoff. I've been struggling with processing a wider view of chamaeleon 1, so really appreciate your effort here.

[Ryderscope (Rodney)]

Nice one Geoff. These dusty regions make for a great presentation and this one work well with the distinctive blue nebula.

[Placidus (Mike and Trish)]

Wow, that's so different!

Engaging contrast between the reflection nebula and the dust.

My vague memory is that the truly black stuff is dust so thick that it obscures all distant starlight.

What causes the majority of the dust in this image to be a dark brown? Is it partially and selectively obscuring light from distant stars?

Armchair hypothesis for demolition: it can't be selectively reflecting the light from the nearby stars, because if it were, then the thicker blacker stuff should reflect at least as well if not better.

Even without these questions, it is a lovely photo Geoff.

Best,
Mike