Our cosmic journey took a rare stop to the edge of the constellation of Orion, where it meets with the constellation of Gemini. I have always seen these somewhat popular targets but it never occurred to me that they were within my reach, let alone within close proximity of each other as observed from Earth. The skies graced us with a couple of nights of cloudless interruptions, and I took the opportunity to set up and capture this wide field rendition of the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443) and the Monkey Head Nebula (NGC 2174).
The Jellyfish Nebula (centered in the image) is believed to be part of the remnants of a supernova that occurred some 30,000 years ago in the constellation of Gemini. It is located at a distance of roughly 5,000 light years from Earth and is about 70 light years in size.
In the upper right corner of the image sits the Monkey Head Nebula, a hydrogen II emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is located about 6,400 light years from Earth and is roughly 1.3 times the size of a full moon.
This region has several neighboring celestial objects, including two bright stars on opposing ends of IC443, namely Tejat and Propus. For more technical information on these targets, click on IC 443 and NGC 2174.
During the next winter targets season, it would be worth giving each of these beauties its own center stage. In the meantime, remember to look up and experience an amazing Universe!
Starless version of IC 443, NGC 2174 and friends.
Gear: AA Hypercam 26C, Askar FMA180, HEM27 mount, Optolong L-Ultimate; Optolong CLS; SvBony 120mm + ZWO 120mc
Exif: Ha – 75 x 5-min lights; RGB – 14 x 5-min lights; Gain 200, Offset 3, TEC @ 10 degrees; 20 darks,
Software: SharpCap, PHD2; AstroPixelProcessor, PixInsight; Photoshop
All is indeed well! Blessings to you and yours also! 🤞👍🙏
Beautiful nebulae – and so many stars!
Thank you Roger 🙏🏾🙂
Another THUMBS UP!!
Nice work as usual, and a very thorough job! I really like the comparison shot without the Stars, and thank you for including the links. I read the additional information about those objects just by clicking on them!
Keep up the good work and thank you very much for all you do! Clear skies and keep looking up! 👍💯😃🔭🙏😎
Thank you very much my friend. Finding this pair was a pleasant surprise. I’m going to keep looking up 🤣. Trust that you’re well.