Monoceros R2 and NGC 2170

[jthommes]

The Monoceros R2 star forming region, when imaged, is usually referred to as NGC 2170 - which is a small reflection nebula in the Mon R2 complex. This complex includes reflection nebulae NGC 2170, 2182, 2183, 2185. It also includes six vdB objects (I think the most I have ever had in one image). They are vdB 67, 68, 69, 72, 73, 74 - some of these vdB objects coincide with the NGC objects.

The trouble with star forming regions is that much of what is there is hidden by interstellar matter and dust. The IR spectrum can reveal these hidden structures. Interestingly, we can take our visible spectrum data for our images and overlay, freely available, IR imaging data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) from JPL/NASA - a space based telescope. The annotated image linked below has an IR overlay from Wise and it shows hidden stars, hidden open clusters, and hidden nebulae (blink with visual spectrum by mouse-over).

The visual spectrum image shows a lot of interesting structure in its own right and actually dominated by a prominent Ha emission structure - but I couldn't find it referred to in any well known catalogs.

Image and details can be accessed at the link below (or by clicking on the Monoceros R2 thumbnail crop below). The annotated image has a link below but it can also be accessed from the main image webpage as well. The full FOV image can be accessed from the image webpage and has an image scale of 1.34 arcsec/pixel.

• • 
    Monoceros R2 crop and link to full image

Annotated Image:
Monoceros R2 Region Annotated

Scope: Explore Scientific MN152 Maksutov Newtonian at f/4.8
Camera: ASI294MM (Baader Ha, RGB filters)
Location: DAA Observatory, Shelter Valley, CA

[messier 111]

absolute beauty love the tone , thx .

[Gmetric]

A new one for me JT and an amazing Image to boot, as always

[chris_g]

Stunning image, well done Sir! Thank you for sharing!

[MariusD69]

Amazing image! Great work, Jim!! This target is on my wish list since last year, but the cold season is very stingy with clear nights.

[starfield]

Fantastic shot, Jim. I'm going to have to add this to my list. Lots to see.

I'm curious, how do you produce these fantastic annotations? And adding the IR layer is something I haven't seen before.

[Juno16]

Wonderful image Jim!

Thank you so much for the detailed write-up and the annotated image.

Beautiful work!

[Jockinireland]

Wow! that is beautiful -

[BABOafrica]

Excellent image. And thanks for the link to the annotated image.

BABO

[jthommes]

Thanks for the kind comments folks!

- Jim

[jthommes]

Excellent image. And thanks for the link to the annotated image.

BABO

Wonderful image Jim!

Thank you so much for the detailed write-up and the annotated image.

Beautiful work!

Fantastic shot, Jim. I'm going to have to add this to my list. Lots to see.

I'm curious, how do you produce these fantastic annotations? And adding the IR layer is something I haven't seen before.

Thanks for the comments on the annotation guys!

BABO -
Thanks, all of my annotated images are also linked from the Main Image Page for each image as well.

Steve -
Thanks. Yeah, the annotation images are done with a lot of care detail in Affinity Photo. I use database and catalog input from Aladin and make liberal use of their filters.

There are 54 layers in this annotation (ellipses, leadrlines, text, PI overlays, IR overlay, etc.). The IR image comes from WISE. Their servers hold all the survey image frames so to get coverage on your image you may have to download one, two, or more separate frames. They have plate solutions, so you can use the "Align by Coordinates" Script in PI to mosaic them all up to your image. Alternatively, WISE has a "coadder" feature in their servers so they can mosaic their frames directly. I find this isn't really necessary and can take a long time to wait for a response - the individual frames are quickly downloaded and the "Align by Coordinates" script is excellent .

- Jim

[STEVE333]

Beauty Jim. As always your additional information is so helpful. Love the mouse-over to see show the additional targets the IR can see, very clever.

Don't think I've seen this target before, so, thanks.

Steve

[ic_1101]

A new one on me Jim. Excellent capture and processing as usual.

[Gordon]

Congratulations Jim on having your image selected as todays TSS APOD!

app.php/article/12-18-2021-tss-astropho ... of-the-day

[Makuser]

Hi Jim. Well here is something that we don't see very often. A beautiful Monoceros R2 and NGC2170 image. Excellent contrast, colors, and details. This beautiful capture was very enjoyable to view. Thanks for sharing this work with us Jim and congratulations on receiving the TSS APOD Award today.

[Ylem]

That's gorgeous Jim!

And congratulations on the well deserved APOD!

[AstroBee]

Fantastic image Jim. Congrats on the TSS APOD.

[Mirrorgirl]

Hi

Well done and well deserved thanks for your great image

Mirrorgirl

[jthommes]

Thanks for the comments; thanks for the APOD; thanks for the congrats.

Happy holiday season to everyone. Stay safe.