The Rosette Nebula located in the constellation Monoceros is one of the largest nebulae in our galaxy, measuring 115 light-years across.  This cloud of gas and dust is three times as large as the Orion Nebula, but three times farther away at a distance of 4,900 light-years!  A young star cluster NGC-2244 is emerging from the Rosette Nebula, with 100 stars spread across a half degree at the heart of the Rosette Nebula.  Collectively, the stars in the cluster are visible to the naked eye beneath moderately dark skies.  Ultraviolet light from these central stars ionizes and excites the surrounding gas from which these stars were born.  Darker regions of dust, best seen in the upper rim of the nebula, represent Bok Globules, which are denser clouds of dust and gas that may be precursors of new solar systems!

IMAGE DETAILS:

• Date & Location:  December 12, 2009 (after midnight) - Bernville, PA

• Weather:  Calm wind, 18F.

• Sky Conditions:  Clear with good transparency. 

• Optics:  TeleVue NP101is Refractor with 0.8x TeleVue Reducer = 432mm @ f4.3

• Filter:  Astronomic  EOS clip-in CLS-CCD (Light Pollution Suppression)

• Mount:  Losmandy G-11 equatorial with Gemini V4

• Guiding:  Orion Solitaire w/TeleVue TV60is

• Camera:  Canon T1i (500D) Hap Griffin Modified - Baader UV/IR

• Exposure:  64 min (8 x 8 min) @ ISO 800 RAW

• Calibration Frames:  No dark frame subtraction (18F)

• Processing:  Photoshop CS4, Noise Ninja, NIK 

• Comments:  Cold temperatures and excellent local seeing conditions resulted in a good "signal to noise" image.