... IC 4603: Reflection Nebula in Ophiuchius . ... The effect is created not by digital trickery but by large amounts of interstellar dust. Dust, minute globs rich in carbon and similar in size to cigarette smoke, frequently starts in the outer atmospheres of large, cool, young stars. ... A planet, a white dwarf, and a neutron star orbit each other in the giant globular star cluster M4, some 5,600 light-years away. ... Mars is heading for its closest encounter with Earth in over 50,000 years. ...