The
Rosette Nebula (also known as
Caldwell 49) is an
H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the
Monoceros region of the
Milky Way Galaxy. The
open clusterNGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the
stars of the cluster having been
formed from the nebula's matter.The nebula has been noted to be having a shape reminiscent of a human skull, and is sometimes referred to as the "
Skull Nebula." It is not to be confused with
NGC 246, which is also nicknamed the "
Skull Nebula.
The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of 5,000
light-years from
Earth=10.5px and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The
radiation from the young stars excites the
atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see. The
mass of the nebula is estimated to be around 10,000
solar masses
Comments