A Corinthian column of the National Archives building in Washington D.C. is caught in the light of a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion.

Nasa’s Hubble Telescope reveals NGC 1999 some two hundred years after Sir William Herschel and his sister Caroline discovered it. The eerie light of a reflection nebula comes from a source deep within the nebula that illuminates the layers of gas and dust from within. (PR99-04. Also credit the Hubble Heritage Team.)

Home to the most important documents in the history of the United States of America, the National Archives building on Constitution Avenue was completed in 1937. The building incorporates extensive safety measures to protect the helium filled bronze tanks encasing the most precious documents. Besides the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights is one of only four remaining copies of the 1297 version of the British Magna Carta establishing the basic rights of individuals later incorporated into American democratic principles.

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