Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Carina (Car)  ·  Contains:  IC 2581  ·  NGC 3247  ·  P Car
NGC 3247 (Whirling Dervish Nebula) [NB], Dean Carr
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NGC 3247 (Whirling Dervish Nebula) [NB]

NGC 3247 (Whirling Dervish Nebula) [NB], Dean Carr
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 3247 (Whirling Dervish Nebula) [NB]

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Description

NGC 3247 (also known as Gum 29, RCW 49 or the Whirling Dervish Nebula) is a very large and not often imaged HII nebula that can be seen in the constellation of Carina.

NGC 3247 is variously listed as being between 14,000-25,000 light years from Earth. The nebula is home to over 2,000 stars and contains more than 300 protostars. Of note, Gum29 includes the Westerlund 2 star cluster, which includes some of the hottest, brightest and most massive stars known.

This image was processed in PixInsight using Ha, OIII and SII filters. The unusual HOS palette was used to provide more color variation between the various elements of Westerlund 2. Short-exposure RGB image data was also blended with stars in the NB image. The final image was re-sampled by 120% for aesthetic reasons.

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NGC 3247 (Whirling Dervish Nebula) [NB], Dean Carr