For this week's APOD, I chose the picture called Hidden Treasures Of M78, uploaded on January 27, 2011. It is a picture of the constellation Orion, containing the nebula called M78. This picture of M78 was actually the winner of the Hidden Treasures 2010 astrophotography competition. This picture is of a constellation that is 1,600 light years away, and is not hiding in planet Earth's night sky.
The Hidden Treasures competition in 2010, held by the European Southern Observatory, was when astrophotography pictures were taken of cosmic gems for a competition. The winner was this picture of the bluish nebula surrounded by dusty, dark clouds. At the top of the photo, there is a smaller reflection of NGC 2071. In the lower right of the picture, the recently discovered McNeil's nebula is seen. The whole image spans a little over 0.5 degrees in the sky, correlating to the 15 light years estimated distance of M78.
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