Monoceros R2
This image shows a portion of the giant Monceros R2 molecular cloud, which is estimated to have a mass of 90,000 times that of our Sun. It is a location of massive star formation, particularly in the location of the bright red nebula just below the center of the image. The bright, white nebula just below it is NGC 2170, a reflection nebula. The red colors in this image show energized Hydrogen gas, whereas the blue shows scattered starlight from dust grains within the nebula.
| Observatory: | Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Cerro Tololo, Chile |
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| Telescope: | CTIO 4-Meter |
| Instrument: | Mosaic II |
| Astronomer: | T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and N.S. van der Bliek (NOAO/AURA/NSF) |
| Date of Observation: | 01-11-2012 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | Sulphur [SII] (blue) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) |
| Exposure Times: | 5x10min in H-Alpha and [SII] |
| Location of Image: | Monoceros |
| Field of View: | 33.9 x 29.8 arcmin |
| Orientation: | North is to the right, East is up |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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