One idea.
A few stars in a blob of dust with different colors representing different amount of extinction (blue = none, red and dim = lots). Have scattered light halo around at least one of the extinguished stars.
Not sure how to proceed. This logo is just an idea right now. Hard to describe more at this point. Just would be nice to have a logo, but not a high priority for this academic research software.
One idea. A few stars in a blob of dust with different colors representing different amount of extinction (blue = none, red and dim = lots). Have scattered light halo around at least one of the extinguished stars.