Reflection nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of a reflection nebula surrounding the star V380 Orionis (centre left). The nebula comprises gas and dust left over from the formation of this hot young star. The nebula does not emit its own light, but reflects the light of the star. The silhouetted shape at centre right is a Bok globule. These are very dense clouds of gas and dust which are thought to condense into stars. NGC 1999 lies some 1500 light years from Earth in the constellation Orion. Image taken in January 2000 by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 on the HST.