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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1Cite as

Reflection Nebula

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Definition

A reflection nebula is that part of an interstellar molecular cloud that is close enough to a star to be visible through the starlight reflected off the cloud’s dust. Since the dust scatters light more strongly at shorter wavelengths, the reflection nebula is bluish, and the spectrum is typically continuous. The appearance of a reflection nebula may be contrasted with that of an emission nebula, where the spectrum consists of individual emission lines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Lederle Graduate Research Tower B 619E, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9305, USA

    William M. Irvine

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  1. William M. Irvine
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Correspondence to William M. Irvine .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Irvine, W.M. (2014). Reflection Nebula. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1360-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1360-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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