Today's Image

A close look at the Rosette nebula

Posted by
Claudia Crowley
and
October 22, 2020
Irregular round, pink cloud with dark center against stair field.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | William Shaheen captured this telescopic view of the Rosette nebula on October 15, 2020. He wrote: “A large, colorful and detailed nebula at a distance of 5,200 light-years, the Rosette is one of my favorite objects to photograph.” Thank you, William! Equipment included Mount: Orion HDX110: Telescope: Celestron RASA 11 V2; Camera: ZWO ASI2600MC Pro; Filter: Optolong L-eNhance filter.

The beautiful Rosette nebula, aka NGC 2237, lies about 5,200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Monoceros the Unicorn, and is about 130 light-years across. It is an emission nebula, meaning that the gases that compose it glow as they are energized by radiation from local stars. The young stars in the nebula’s center are gravitationally bound to each other; they are an open cluster formed together from the material of the nebula.

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Bottom line: A telescopic photo of the Rosette nebula (NGC 2237), with its central cluster of stars, from EarthSky Community member William Shaheen.

Posted 
October 22, 2020
 in 
Today's Image

Claudia Crowley

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About the Author:
Claudia Crowley proofs and edits material for the EarthSky website, newsletter, and videos. She says: "Second only to doing space shuttle documentation, EarthSky is the most exciting job I ever had." Besides NASA, Claudia wrote and edited for tech companies such as Dell, TI, NEC, and IBM. As a support tech during the wild early days of the Internet, she helped introduce hundreds of newcomers to the wonders of cyberspace. Claudia also worked as the general manager of a small wireless ISP and with the professional organization Part-15. She says: “I’ve been a fan of space and science my whole life, and I love being part of an organization where I get to learn more about them all the time.”

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