Credit &Copyright: Stephen Leshin Explanation:
NGC 1333 is seen in visible light asa reflection nebula,dominated by bluish hues characteristic of starlight reflected by dust.A mere 1,000 light-years distant toward the heroic constellationPerseus,it lies at the edge of a large,star-forming molecular cloud.This striking close-up view spansabout 4 light-years at the estimated distanceofNGC 1313.It shows details of the dusty regionalong with hints of contrasting emission in redjetsand glowing gas from recently formed stars.In fact, NGC 1333 contains hundreds of stars less thana million years old,most still hidden from opticaltelescopes by the pervasive stardust.The chaotic environment may be similar to one in which our own Sunformed over 4.5 billion years ago.