C49 · Rosette Nebula

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Credit T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA · CC BY 4.0

Chinese name	玫瑰星云
Type	Emission nebula
Constellation	Mon
RA	06h32m
Dec	+05°
Apparent magnitude	9ᵐ
Hemisphere	Both hemispheres
Best season	Winter
Difficulty	Moderate
Focal length	中焦 400–800mm

About

The Rosette Nebula lies about 5,200 light-years away in Monoceros and spans some 130 light-years across. It surrounds the young open cluster NGC 2244, whose hot O-type stars ionize the gas and have blown out a central cavity, sculpting the perfect rose-like ring. Containing the mass of roughly 10,000 Suns, it is one of the Galaxy's active stellar nurseries. Narrowband SHO imaging reveals rich petal structure and dark Bok globules. Larger than the full Moon on the sky, it is a star target for winter wide-field astrophotography.