Sh2-37 (IC 1284) is located just south of Messier 24 (M24) in the constellation Sagittarius^[1].  It relative close to the center of our Milky Way galaxy^[3].  Much of this area of the galaxy is heavily obscured by large clouds of interstellar dust, some of which are visible in this image.

This large celestial vista is composed of two different types of nebula each with its own distinctive color^[2].  The large central red nebular cloud is designated Sh2-37 in the Sharpless catalog of HII regions^[1].  It is classed as an emission nebula and shines with the red light of excited hydrogen known as hydrogen alpha (Ha) emission^[2].

Two smaller blue regions are visible to the lower right and adjacent to Sh2-37.  These colorful objects are classed as reflection nebulae^[1,3,4].  These nebulae surround two young stars that illuminate them by reflecting light from surrounding interstellar dust^[2,4].  This is much like the phenomena that makes our Earthly sky appear blue^[2].  These nebulae are designated in the Van der Berg Catalog as VdB 118 (upper nebula) and VdB 119 (lower nebula).

The image above is orientated with north up and east to the left.