#NGC 2244

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The Rosette Nebula, C49 // Dudás László

At the center of this nebula that stretches 130 light years across is an open star cluster known as the Satellite Cluster (NGC 2244). It is the hottest stars in this cluster that are ionizing the gas surrounding them, resulting in the beautiful Rosette Nebula we see. It was English astronomer John Flamsteed (1646-1719) that found the Satellite Cluster.

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NGC 2244 - Rosette Nebula !

Courtesy: Bill Blanshan

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The Rosette Nebula

A fine nebula with numerous designations

Caldwell 49, in Monoceros Image exposure:75 MinutesImage Size: 1.84º x 1.35ºImage date:2023-02-16 Rosette Nebula: The Rosette Nebula possesses two designations in the Caldwell catalogue: Caldwell 49 – the large spherical H II region. Caldwell 50 – the star cluster. It also possesses no less than five NGC designations: NGC 2237 – Part of the nebulous region but used to denote whole nebula…

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The Rosette Nebula in Hydrogen and Oxygen

Credits: Arno Rottal, Far-Light-Photography

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NGC 2244, Rosette

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Skull or Rosette?

This beautiful emission nebula in the constellation Unicorn with embedded star cluster NGC 2244 is a popular target in the winter starry sky. Parts of the nebula itself were first described by various astronomers between 1830 and 1886. The star cluster inside, however, was discovered as early as 1690.

With a distance of 5219 light years and a radius of 65 light years, it is almost in our neighborhood.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[apod]

2024 February 14

Rosette Deep Field Image Credit & Copyright: Olivier Bernard & Philippe Bernhard

Explanation: Can you find the Rosette Nebula? The large, red, and flowery-looking nebula on the upper left may seem the obvious choice, but that is actually just diffuse hydrogen emission surrounding the Cone and Fox Fur Nebulas. The famous Rosette Nebula is really located on the lower right and connected to the other nebulas by irregular filaments. Because the featured image of Rosetta's field is so wide and deep, it seems to contain other flowers. Designated NGC 2237, the center of the Rosette nebula is populated by the bright blue stars of open cluster NGC 2244, whose winds and energetic light are evacuating the nebula's center. The Rosette Nebula is about 5,000 light years distant and, just by itself, spans about three times the diameter of a full moon. This flowery field can be found toward the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240214.html

[livingforstars]

Star Cluster in the Rosette Nebula - May 22nd, 1996.

"Embedded in the center of the colourful and photogenic Rosette Nebula is a bright, young open cluster. The bright blue stars in this cluster, labelled NGC 2244, emit ultraviolet light that knocks electrons away from hydrogen atoms. When the electrons fall back, they emit the red light which distinctively defines the glow of all emission nebulae. The Rosette Nebula is thousands of light years distant, but light would take only about 100 years to cross it. The Rosette Nebula is not difficult to observe and, although faint, actually appears larger than the full Moon."

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(Also posted on Instagram)

My entry for @slocotion​'s DYO contest! This little guy is inspired by one of my favorite celestial objects, the Rosette Nebula! :]

I thought the idea of stacking a top hat on top of a jester cap might be a bit silly, but I ended up liking it more than I expected?

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Design Concept

Rosette Nebula (Skull Nebula): The Nebula with a Hole in the Heart

Based on Caldwell 49, a nebula that resembles both a rose and a human skull. The “hole” in the center of the nebula gives it its iconic rose shape. The rose theme reminded me of a phantom thief, who I found similar to a jester in the sense that they were both witty figures and masters of tricks! 

I wanted them to have a look that was both snazzy like a gentleman thief and whimsical like a jester, with a repeating "star" motif to represent the open cluster (NGC 2244) within the nebula.

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Top text transcript:

Rhódon (Greek for "rose", a flower that, in Greek mythology, came from the lifeless body of a nymph that was transformed by Chloris) is a phantom thief who loves attention and all things shiny and sparkly!

They are constantly driven by the urge to show off their skills, and the thrill of pulling off impressive heists is one of the only things that fill the hole in their heart.

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The Satellite Cluster, C50 // Serge Sankov

In the heart of the Rosette Nebula lies the Satellite Cluster (NGC 2244). This is an extremely young star cluster at only 5 million years old. The brightest stars among them, over 400,000 times brighter than the Sun, are responsible for lighting up the gas around them.

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Rosette Nebula Talon Abraxas

The Rosette Nebula is a vast emission nebula located about 5,200 light years away. The star forming region lies near a large molecular cloud in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn. It is closely associated with the young open star cluster NGC 2244.

Also known as the Satellite Cluster, NGC 2244 appears in the centre of the Rosette. The hot young stars of the cluster were formed from the nebula’s material in the last 5 million years.

The stars in the Satellite Cluster are responsible for the nebula’s glow. Their radiation ionizes the surrounding clouds of nebulosity, causing them to emit their own light. The nebula glows in the red part of the spectrum because the powerful ultraviolet radiation from the stars strips electrons from the nebula’s hydrogen atoms.

In the Heart of the Rosette Nebula Talon Abraxas In the heart of the Rosette Nebula lies a bright cluster of stars that lights up the nebula. The stars of NGC 2244 formed from the surrounding gas only a few million years ago. A hot wind of particles streams away from the cluster stars and contributes to an already complex menagerie of gas and dust filaments while slowly evacuating the cluster center. The Rosette Nebula's center measures about 50 light-years across, lies about 5,200 light-years away, and is visible with binoculars towards the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros).

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The Rosette Nebula (Caldwell 49) in narrowband false color (SHO/Hubble palette).

The Rosette is an emission nebula (a cloud of ionized gas emitting light) in the Monoceros constellation, notable for having an open cluster of young stars (NGC 2244) at its center, formed from the gases of the nebula.

Shot with a 440mm effective focal length Newtonian telescope at a focal ratio of f/2.93, with roughly five hours of total integration time (1 hour of Ha and roughly 2 hours each of OIII and SII, exposure length varying from 3 to 5 minutes). Captured with an ASI533MM Pro camera.

Processed with SiriL, Starnet, and GIMP. Support free software.

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Radiant Stars at the Heart of a Cosmic Rose

Dark Energy Camera captures most detailed image of the resplendent Rosette Nebula and the star cluster fueling its glow

Cradled within the fiery petals of the Rosette Nebula is NGC 2244, the young star cluster which it nurtured. The cluster’s stars light up the nebula in vibrant hues of red, gold and purple, and opaque towers of dust rise from the billowing clouds around its excavated core. This image, captured by the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, is being released in celebration of NOIRLab’s fifth anniversary.

Around 5000 light-years away, the Rosette Nebula appears to be blooming right out the interstellar medium. Every detail of this cosmic flower, from its glowing central cavity to its shadowy filaments and globulettes, is captured in this image by the 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.

Located in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn), the Rosette Nebula spans 1.3 degrees of sky, roughly the width of an index finger held out at arm’s length. For comparison, the well-known Orion Nebula, located in the constellation Orion just below the hunter’s belt, spans one degree of sky. Although the Rosette Nebula has a diameter of 130 light-years — more than five times as large as the Orion Nebula — their apparent sizes are similar because the former is four times as distant.

As prominent as the nebula’s ‘petals’ is the conspicuous absence of gas at its center. The culprits responsible for excavating this hollow core are the most massive stars of NGC 2244 — the open star cluster nurtured by the nebula. This cluster was born around two million years ago after the nebula’s gasses coalesced into clumps brought together by their mutual gravity. Eventually, some clumps grew to be massive stars that produce stellar winds powerful enough to bore a hole in the nebula’s heart. 

NGC 2244’s massive stars also emit ultraviolet radiation, which ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and lights up the nebula in an array of brilliant colors. The billowing red clouds are regions of H-alpha emission, resulting from highly energized hydrogen atoms emitting red light. Along the walls of the central cavity, closer to the massive central stars, the radiation is energetic enough to ionize a heavier atom like oxygen, which glows in shades of gold and yellow. Finally, along the edges of the flower’s petals are wispy tendrils of deep pink glowing from the light emitted by ionized silicon.

The Rosette Nebula’s bright and glowing features are certainly striking; but its dark and shadowy features also command attention. Around the nebula’s excavated nucleus is a string of dark clouds dubbed ‘elephant trunks,’ so-named because of their trunk-like pillars. These structures are opaque because they contain obscuring dust, and they line the border between the hot shell of ionized hydrogen and the surrounding environment of cooler hydrogen. As the shell expands outwards it encounters cold and clumpy gas that resists its push. This creates the long and extended trunks whose lengths point like fingers towards the central cluster.

One of these dark features is the Wrench Trunk, its claw-like head seen towards the upper right of the central cluster. Unlike the prototypical Pillars of Creation trunks which stand like straight columns, the Wrench’s ‘handle’ has an unusual spiral shape which traces the magnetic field of the nebula.

Less obvious but equally interesting are the dark globulettes. Sometimes round and sometimes teardrop-shaped, these diminutive blobs of dust are smaller than the better known globules at only a few times more massive than Jupiter. A string of them can be seen near the Wrench Trunk, but hundreds more dot the entire Rosette Nebula. These globulettes may host brown dwarfs and planets within them. 

Like all roses, the Rosette Nebula will not last forever, for the same stars it birthed will also bring about its death. In roughly 10 million years the radiation from the hot, young stars of the NGC 2244 cluster will have dissipated the nebula. By then the rosette will no longer be, and its massive stars will be left without their parent cloud.

This huge 377-megapixel image is being released in celebration of NOIRLab’s fifth anniversary. On 1 October 2019 NOIRLab’s five programs — Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, the Community Science and Data Center, the International Gemini Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory and Vera C. Rubin Observatory — were brought together under one organization. In the years since, NOIRLab’s world-class telescopes have contributed to many discoveries and countless press releases, and produced an impressive collection of stunning astronomical images showcasing our diverse and colorful Universe.

TOP IMAGE: Cradled within the fiery petals of the Rosette Nebula is NGC 2244, the young star cluster which it nurtured. The cluster’s stars light up the nebula in vibrant hues of red, gold and purple, and opaque towers of dust rise from the billowing clouds around its excavated core. This image, captured by 570-megapixel Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, is being released in celebration of NOIRLab’s fifth anniversary.Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

LOWER IMAGE: This excerpt shows some of the interesting features of the Rosette Nebula. The dashed circle highlights the nebula's central star cluster, NGC 2244. The hazy smudge at the center of NGC 2244 is the young stellar object (YSO), Rosette HH1 (1). YSOs are stars in their early stage of evolution, before they become main-sequence stars, that often exhibit characteristics such as jets, bipolar outflows, protoplanetary discs, and other indicators of a new star being born. Around the nebula’s excavated nucleus is a string of dark clouds dubbed ‘elephant trunks,’ so-named because of their trunk-like pillars (2, 4) One of these dark features is the Wrench Trunk (3). Unlike the prototypical Pillars of Creation trunks which stand like straight columns, the Wrench’s ‘handle’ has an unusual spiral shape which traces the magnetic field of the nebula. This image was captured with the Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera, mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab.Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

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NGC 2244

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NGC 2244: A Star Cluster in the Rosette Nebula

Credits: J. C. Cuillandre, CFHT Staff, CFHT