Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Eridanus (Eri)  ·  Contains:  61 Eri  ·  62 Eri  ·  65 Eri)  ·  69 Eri)  ·  NGC 1909  ·  Part of the constellation Eridanus (Eri)  ·  The star Kursi al Jauzah I (ψ Eri  ·  The star Kursi al Jauzah II (λ Eri  ·  The star b Eri  ·  The star ω Eri  ·  the Witch Head Nebula
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Witch Head Nebula IC 2118, Joey Troy
Witch Head Nebula IC 2118
Powered byPixInsight

Witch Head Nebula IC 2118

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Witch Head Nebula IC 2118, Joey Troy
Witch Head Nebula IC 2118
Powered byPixInsight

Witch Head Nebula IC 2118

Equipment

Loading...

Acquisition details

Loading...

Description

Ah, the Witch Head Nebula. I have been trying to image her since 2021 with little to no success due to the weather or just not being happy with my subs or processing. Dealing with Rigel can be a bear, to say the least, and I think ideally imaging this area even wider probably would make it easier. Regaurdless I am not coming back to this object again as I am happy enough with the image and honestly will call it a win even if it's not perfect.

IC 2118 (also known as Witch Head Nebula due to its shape) is an extremely faint reflection nebula believed to be an ancient supernova remnant or gas cloud illuminated by nearby supergiant star Rigel in the constellation of Orion. The nebula lies in the Eridanus Constellation,[1] about 900 light-years from Earth. The nature of the dust particles, reflecting blue light better than red, is a factor in giving the Witch Head its blue color. Radio observations show substantial carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118, an indicator of the presence of molecular clouds and star formation in the nebula. In fact candidates for pre-main sequence stars and some classic T-Tauri stars have been found deep within the nebula.

Comments

Sky plot

Sky plot

Histogram

Witch Head Nebula IC 2118, Joey Troy