Pillars of NGC 2174 - "Monkey Head"

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL SIZE VIEW (7616x4147)

Scope: Celestron 9.25 Edge HD 235 mm at f/7, Location: DAA Observatory, Shelter Valley, CA:\,   5, 8, 12 December,   Camera: ASI294MM (Baader  Ha OIII RGB Filters)

Exposure: Ha 114 x 3.5 minutes (gain-160 2x2) ,  OIII 112 x 3.5 minutes (gain-160 2x2), RGB - 25 each x 2 minutes  - (gain-121 2x2).

Processing: Data Collection -  N.I.N.A. (as FITs).  Sub-frame calibration - Pixinsight (WBPP). Sub-frame  registration and integration (Average combine -  ESD Rejection,  2X drizzle) - PixInsight (WBPP).  TGV Denoise - PixInsight.  Non-linear stretching for Ha and OIII - PixInsight.    RGB combine and stretching, Photometric RGB calibration (SPCC)  - PixInsight. Generation of starless Ha, OIII, and RGB image for later processing - StarXTerminator  (PixInsight.)  De-convolution - BlurXTerminator (AI4).  Ha and OIII color mapping is a combination of Foraxx  and HOO palette of the starless stacks- PixInsight. Starlees RGB is selectively mixed iinto the Narrow band starless map - Affinity Photo. RGB star image is screened into the Ha, RGB, broad band starless construction - Pixinsight. Final finishing  - Affinity Photo.  Annotation - PixInsight, Aladin (Simbad and NED), and Affinity Photo. This image is a  Modified HOO mapping with RGB stars.  Image processed at 8288x5644 resolution (2x drizzle stacks). Final crop Image size is approximately 7816x4947.

North is to the right in this image - it is a close up of the western "wall" of  NGC 2174 - the "Monkey Head" nebula. NGC 2174 is also known as Sh2-252 and LBN 854. It is an emission nebula structure  with most of the Ionization energy coming from the star HD 42088. Its distance is about 5,700 light years distant.  NGC 2174 and its immediate surrounds  hosts five star clusters - three of which are in the field of this image. The are designated as Sh2-252 A, C, and E. There are also dark nebula from the Dobashi catalog in this image field.  These objects, information, and some of the brighter stars are identified in the annotated image.  The Horizontal FOV is approximately 37.1 arc minutes. Full size image scale is approximately 0.292 arcsec/pix.

Image Center approximately - Equatorial 2000: RA: 6h 9m 12s Dec: 20°30'55"

All images and content remain the property of Jim Thommes - copyright 2003 - 2024

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