The NGC 6914 complex of nebulae lies some
6,000 light-years away, toward the northern constellation Cygnus
and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. With foreground dust
clouds in silhouette, both reddish hydrogen emission nebulae and
dusty blue reflection nebulae are visible in this photo.
Ultraviolet radiation from the massive, hot, young stars of the
extensive Cygnus OB2 association ionize the region's atomic
hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic red glow as protons
and electrons recombine. Embedded Cygnus OB2 stars also provide
the blue starlight strongly reflected by the dusty clouds.
