NGC 2174 (also known as Monkey Head Nebula) is an emission nebula located in the constellation Orion and is associated with the open star cluster It is thought to be located about 6 400 light-years away from Earth.
Glowing gas and dark dust do not survive well in the Monkey Head Nebula. Young stars near the center of the nebula generate stellar winds and high energy radiation that causes the nebula’s material to shift into complex shapes. The nebula is primarily composed of hydrogen which glows at infrared wavelengths due to the radiation.
I dusted off this older data and gave it a fresh processing.
Data for this image was gathered from 2 sessions between 2023-01-01 and 2023-01-16.
Data for this image: 18x300s S-II, 20x300s Ha, 16x300s O-III.
Total number of exposures 54 with a total integration time of 4.5 hours.
Processing: PixInsight with SHO palette with SHO stars.
Equipment: SkyWatcher EvoStar 80ED Pro (0,85x FR/FF) and ZWO ASI294MM Pro on SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro with SkyWatcher EvoGuide 50ED and ZWO ASI120MM Mini. ZWO SII, Ha, and OIII filters.
Location: 63 degrees north with a bortle 4 sky.
#astrophotography #observatory #pixinsight