NGC 2071) is a reflection nebula discovered January 1, 1784, by William Herschel^[1].  It resides in the constellation Orion, approximately 1,600 light years distant^[1].  NGC 2071, like all reflection nebulae, shines with the reflected and scattered light of bright stars.  This gives the nebula its characteristic blue color and is essentially the same phenomenon that produces the blue color of our sky.  The illuminating star in the nebula is cataloged HDE 290861^{[3 Intro Pg. 1347]}.

NGC 2071 is located only a few arc-mins north of the more famous M78 nebula.  Many wide field images of M78^[1,2] include both nebulae.  NGC 2071 and M78 are very similar in both structure and distance.

Several Herbig-Haro(HH) objects have been observed in NGC 2071^[3].  These objects are associated with active new star forming regions^[3].  This indicates strong activity of young stellar objects within NGC 2071^[3].