NGC1999 - The Keyhole (Jason Guenzel)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Orion (Ori) · Contains: NGC 1999

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NGC1999 - The Keyhole

Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DGJ6YJR4n/

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NGC1999 - The Keyhole

Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3DGJ6YJR4n/

Located 1500 light years away, just below the tip of Orion’s sword, lies this complex stellar nursery. The area is bathed in hydrogen (red emission clouds) but deep within in the brightest area is a tiny feature called “The Keyhole”.

The Keyhole appears as a dark patch within a the blue reflection nebula. While first theorized to be a collection of dark dust, infrared studies have confirmed this to actually be a rift, through which the dark background sky can be seen. Astronomers surmise that this hole was punched out by the local energetic star-birth activity, but it’s true cause is still conjecture.

Herbig-Haro objects are scattered throughout this image. They are bright patches of nebulosity associated with newborn stars. The stars throw out ionized jets of gas which interact with the nearby clouds. They appear as small bright tendrils in orange/red.

As always, enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments!

I find it a shame this nebula is always overshadowed by its next door neighbor.

Narrowband imaging
Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (SCT) Imagers
Cloudy Nights
ZWO ASI1600MM/QHY163M

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Astrometry.net job	2957254
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NGC1999 - The Keyhole

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