Russell Croman Astrophotography  

 

 

Nebula NGC 2170


About This Photograph

This enigmatic region in the constellation of Monoceros displays a wonderful mix of nebula types. The bluish areas are reflection nebulas, so-named because they reflect the light of nearby stars. The dust particle size in these areas preferentially reflects blue light, similar to cigarette and other kinds of smoke. The red areas are emission nebulas, and shine by a different mechanism. Ultraviolet light from nearby stars excites hydrogren and other gas atoms in the nebula, which then emit light of their own in specific colors. Finally, what looks a bit like black ink spilled across the image constitutes a dark nebula, and is only seen because of the light that it blocks. In other words, the dark nebula is seen in silhouette.

Other photographs of this object:

  • Robert Gendler
  • Adam Block
  • Stefan Seip
  •  

    Technical Details

    Optics:20" f/8 RCOS Ritchey-Chrétien Cassegrain
    Camera:SBIG STL-11000M
    Mount:Software Bisque Paramount ME
    Filters:SBIG Standard LRGB
    Dates/Times:various dates in January and February, 2006 and 2007
    Location:Dimension Point Observatory, Mayhill, New Mexico
    Exposure Details:LRGB = 360:240:120:240 minutes (each frame; two-frame mosaic)
    Acquisition:MaxIm DL/CCD 4, TheSky6, CCDAutoPilot3
    Processing:CCDStack, MaxIm DL/CCD 4, Photoshop CS2

     

    Publication Data for this Photograph

    Date Publication Type
    2007-02-28 NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day Web Site
    2008-00-00 Handbook of Star Forming Regions,
    p. ??
    Book