Astr112 Photography Projects, Spring 2006

Rosette Nebula, Aaron Schepers

The Rosette Nebula is a colorful cloud of dust and gas that covers five times the size of our full moon in the night sky. Hydrogen emissions, the dominant emission in the area, give off the rosy color that gave the nebula its name. Hydrogen's strongest optical emission lines lie in the red region of the spectrum. A massive diffuse nebula, the group contains an open star cluster within it. Because of its size, it has been given four different NGC numbers: 2237, 2238, 2239, and 2246. Located in the constellation Monoceres, its distance has been estimated at 5,500 light years. New stars are still being formed in this nebula. The open cluster found within the nebula (NGC 2244) was discovered by Flamsteed about 1690, he did not see the diffuse nebula, however. Its different parts were discovered by John Herschel (NGC 2239 = GC 1420 = h 392), Marth (NGC 2238 = GC 5361 = Marth 99), and Swift (NGCs 2237 and 2246).

In this image only a portion of this vast nebula, an angular size of 14x18 (arcmin) can be seen. While the red tint of the Hydrogen emission is present through the entire image, the bottom left corner features an area that is especially vibrant. Also, notice the intensity of the starlight which is characteristic of the region.

References:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060324.html

http://www.seds.org/MESSIER/xtra/ngc/n2244.html