Dark filaments of dust radiating towards the centre of the Rosette nebula (NGC 2244). The twisted helical pattern of these filaments is thought to be moulded by the interplay of stellar winds, radiation and electromagnetic forces emanating from the central cluster of hot young stars. This is my favourite part of the Rosette – I particularly like the way the filaments of dust take on animal-like forms.
Right ascension: 06h 31m 44s | Declination: +05° 08′ 49″ | Distance: 5,000 Light Years
Field of view: 34 x 25 arcmin
Camera: Atik 314L+
Telescope: William Optics Megrez 120 F/7.5
Filters: Baader Ha (7nm), OIII (8.5nm), SII (8nm)
Exposures: Ha 15 x 10 min; OIII and SII each 6 x 5 min binned 2×2
Total exposure: 3.5 hours
Image composition: LRGB (Ha, SII, Ha, OIII)
Scale: 1.48 arcsec/pixel
Image acquired: 16/12/10 & 24/01/11 from Bristol (UK)
Image capture and guiding with MaxIm DL; Image processed with MaxIm DL, CCDSharp, Photoshop CS4