RA: 06h 12m Dec: +17º 59' Mag: 14.6, Size: -, Distance:2 kpc
RA: 06h 12m Dec: +17º 59' Mag: 14.6, Size: -, Distance:2 kpc
This nebula complex of compact HII regions and active star formations is located in the club of Orion on the Orion/Gemini border. Starting from the top left is Sh2-258 a small nebula made of dust and gas exhibiting a yellow glow. To the right is Sh2-255 (IC 2162) which is the brightest nebula due to the very hot 11.3 mag type BO III star partially surrounded by dark filaments. Sh2-257 is to the right with a mag 10.8 BOV class star. To the lower right is the smaller Sh2-256 emission nebula and the largest nebula, Sh2-254, is a low density emission nebula with a darker red hue is ionized by a mag 9.8 O9.5V star. This nebula complex is embedded within the 27000 solar mass GEM OB1 molecular cloud located along the galactic plane with most of the mass concentration between bright nebulas Sh2-255 and Sh2-257.
| Location & Date |
Backyard, Abbott Observatory - Jan. 31, Feb. 6-8,19 March 1, 2010 Temperature - Low 30's F |
| Telescope | Deep Sky Instruments RC10C , F/7.3, Losmandy G11 Gemini, Prime Focus, Image scale 0.82 arcsec/pixel |
| Camera |
SBIG ST-2000XM w/CFW8, AO8 Baader LRGB AR Filters CCD temp -15°C |
| Exposure Times | (Ha) 21x15 (L) 18x15 (R) 8x15 (G) 5x15 (B) 8x15 Minutes, Bin 1x1 |
| Other Information |
Image planning - CCD Navigator Image acquisition/focus/guiding/dither - CCD Autopilot4 w/CCDSoft/TheSky6/PinPoint |
| Image Processing |
* Images Plus 3.75- Calibration, Normalize, Grade, Alignment, Mean Combine, Deconvolution, Mild DDP * Adobe CS4 - Ha+L+RGB combine, Levels, Curves, Sharpening, Cropping, NR, JPEG conversion |
