AstroBinAstroBin
Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Monoceros (Mon)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2237  ·  NGC 2238  ·  NGC 2239  ·  NGC 2246  ·  NGC 2252  ·  Rosette A  ·  Rosette B  ·  Rosette Nebula  ·  The star 12Mon
ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49, Roger R. Sanchez Giammattei
ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49
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ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49

ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49, Roger R. Sanchez Giammattei
ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49
Powered byPixInsight

ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49

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Description

The Rosette Nebula is a large and circular H II region, located on the edge of a giant molecular cloud in the constellation of the Monoceros Unicorn. The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebula, by virtue of which the stars of the cluster have formed of the matter of the same. An H II region is a cloud of bright gas and plasma that can reach a size of several hundred light years and in which massive stars are formed. These stars emit copious amounts of extreme ultraviolet light (with wavelengths less than 912 Ångströms) that ionize the nebula around them. These regions can give birth to a large number of stars over a period of several million years.

The cluster and the nebula are located at a distance of about 5200 light years from Earth (although the calculations of the distance vary considerably, until reaching 4900 light years) and measure about 130 light years in diameter. The radiation of the young stars excites the atoms of the nebula, causing them to emit radiation that makes the nebula shine. The mass of the nebula is estimated at about 10,000 solar masses. It is believed that the stellar wind of a group of stars O and B is exerting pressure on the cloud, causing its compression, and generating the formation of stars in the nebula. This star formation is still ongoing.

An image of the nebula taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 2001, has allowed us to observe the area of ​​young and hot stars that are in the center of the Rosette Nebula. The stars have heated the surrounding gas to a temperature of the order of 6 million Kelvin, causing them to emit large amounts of X-rays.

The red color of the nebula is not detected visually, although in the photographic images. This typical red color of the nebulae is produced by the emission of hydrogen atoms through the phenomenon known as fluorescence.

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ROSETTE NEBULA CALDWELL 49, Roger R. Sanchez Giammattei
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