Would the
Rosette Nebula
by any other
name look as sweet?
The bland
New General Catalog
designation of
NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of
this
flowery
emission nebula,
as captured by the
Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the
Blanco 4-meter telescope at the
NSF's
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in
Chile.
Inside the nebula lies an
open cluster
of bright young stars designated
NGC 2244.
These stars
formed about four million years ago from the nebular
material and their
stellar winds are
clearing a hole in the nebula's center,
insulated by a layer of
dust and hot gas.
Ultraviolet light from the
hot cluster stars causes the surrounding nebula to
glow.
The
Rosette Nebula spans about 100
light-years across, lies
about 5000 light-years away,
and can be seen with a small telescope towards the
constellation of
the Unicorn
(
Monoceros).