Cocoon Nebula

The Cocoon Nebula is about 4000 light-years from Willingboro and is about 15 light years across. It is considered a relection/emission nebula and is illuminated by its central star which is only about 100,000 years old.

Also inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing cluster of stars and, like other star forming regions, the red color is due to the surrounding hydrogen gas excited by young, hot stars. The starlight reaching the dust at the edge of the nebula has insufficient energy to ionize the gas, but is enough to cause scattering which makes the dust visible (hence it is classified as a reflection/emission nebula).