Reflection Nebula M78

Messier 78 (M78, NGC 2068) is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in the sky, situated in the rich constellation Orion.
M78 belongs to the Orion complex, a large cloud of gas and dust centered on the Orion Nebula M42/M43, and is about 1,600 light years distant. It is the brightest portion of a vast dust cloud which includes NGC 2071, NGC 2067, and very faint NGC 2064, all visible in this image. Together with some other nebulae, including NGC 2024 (Orion B) near Zeta Orionis (sometimes called the Flame Nebula), all these nebulae are associated with the molecular cloud LDN 1630, a part of the Orion complex.

This nebula acquired some late fame in February 2004 on the following occasion: Jay W. McNeil discovered a supposedly "new" nebula near M78, within the field of the original Kreimer image from the 1960's. However, the nebula was soon found to be obvious in the original Kreimer image displayed on the SEDS.org page by a considerable number of attentive readers, demonstrating that it had been in place at the time when the Kreimer image was taken, and Jay McNeil had discovered another outburst of the young star feeding it (a so-called Herbig-Haro object). Meanwhile, McNeil's nebula has faded again.