Rosette Nebula - NGC 2237 (Caldwell 49)
The Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237 or Caldwell 49) is a faint emission nebula in the constellation Monoceros. It lies at a distance of approximately 5200 light years and is about 130 light years in diameter. This cloud of gas glows in the red light characteristic of ionized hydrogen as it recombines with lost electrons.
The open star cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is located at the center of the nebula and is composed of bright young stars formed several million years ago. Their stellar winds are clearing a hole in the nebula's center, insulated by a layer of dust and hot gas. Ultraviolet light from the hot cluster stars causes the surrounding Rosette Nebula to glow.
Close-up of Rosette Nebula shows this object in greater detail.
For more information, see the Caldwell Catalog as well as specific entries for Rosette Nebula in Wikipedia and Atlas of the Universe.
Technical Details
- Object: Rosette Nebula
- Other Names: NGC 2237, Caldwell 49
- Object Type: Emission Nebula
- Date/Time: 2011 Jan 28 at 04:51 UTC
- Location: Bifrost Astronomical Observatory, Portal, AZ
- Telescope: Nikkor 180mm F/2.8 Lens
- Mount: Astro-Physics 1200GTO
- Camera: Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T2i) (modified with a Baader UV/IR filter)
- Exposure: 8 x 300s, f/2.8, ISO 800
- File Name: NGC2237-01w.jpg
- Processing: Stack of 8 Images, Crop, Levels, Unsharp Mask (Photoshop CS5)
- Original Image Size: 3454 × 5179 pixels (17.9 MP); 11.5" x 17.3" @ 300 dpi
- Rights: Copyright 2011 by Fred Espenak. All Rights Reserved. See: Image Licensing.
