They normally have a bluish tint, because they are reflecting the light from hot stars and because scattered light is blue in color. Emission nebulae are very much like reflection nebulae, except that the light is actually generated inside the nebula, rather than being reflected. Hubble s variable nebula is a reflection nebula, reflecting the light given off by R Mon. This is one issue that experts agree on. What many experts still argue over is the exact name to give to the morphology of the nebula.
Some authorities call it a type of cometary nebula, while others call the nebula bipolar.
Recently, HH objects were located very near NGC 2261, and were called HH 39. Many people call Hubble s variable nebula fan-shaped. The counterfan is the south pole, which can sometimes be seen very faintly. As there is normally a circumstellar disk, a disk-shaped molecular cloud, that can be found around young stars, so there is one around R Mon. This disk is made up of gas and dust and is spiraling slowly into the star.