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Rosette Nebula - TSA102S
NGC2238 - Rosetta Nebula
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The Rosette Nebula is
a large, circular H II region located near one end
of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region
of the Milky Way Galaxy. The open cluster NGC 2244
is closely associated with the nebulosity, the
stars of the cluster having been formed from the
nebula's matter.
The complex has the
following NGC designations:
 | NGC 2237 - Part
of the nebulous region (Usually used to denote
whole nebula) |
| NGC 2238 - Part
of the nebulous region |
| NGC 2239 - Part
of the nebulous region (Discovered by John
Herschel) |
| NGC 2244 - The
open cluster within the nebula (Discovered by
John Flamsteed in 1690) |
| NGC 2246 - Part
of the nebulous region |
The cluster and
nebula lie at a distance of some 5,200 light years
from Earth (although estimates of the distance
vary considerably) and measure roughly 130 light
years in diameter. The radiation from the young
stars excite the atoms in the nebula, causing them
to emit radiation themselves producing the
emission nebula we see. The mass of the nebula is
estimated to be around 10,000 solar masses.
It is believed that
stellar winds from a group of O and B stars are
exerting pressure on interstellar clouds to cause
compression, followed by star formation in the
nebula. This star formation is currently still
ongoing.
A survey of the
nebula with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 2001
has revealed the presence of very hot, young stars
at the core of the Rosette Nebula. These stars
have heated the surrounding gas to a temperature
in the order of 6 million kelvins causing them to
emit copious amounts of X-rays.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)
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Public Viewing
Nights |
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Just to let
everyone know, public viewing nights are held
every first Friday of the month. Clear or cloudy
nights the public viewing night goes ahead.
Members man a number of telescopes of various
sizes and types, and for those nights where the
sky is cloudy, extended astronomical presentations
are presented in the MPAS Viewing Centre.
So please come
along and enjoy our nights sky.
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