2022-01-26 / Click on image to enlarge
galacticsights
astrophotography
NGC 2175, Monkey Head Nebula
Technical Details
| Location | Zollikerberg, Switzerland |
| Camera | Nikon DSLR D810A |
| Telescope | TS ONTC 12" f/4 Carbon Newton |
| Optics | TS 2,5" Wynne Coma Corrector |
| Focal Length | 1113mm |
| Mount | iOptron CEM120 Center-Balanced Equatorial Mount |
| Autoguiding | MGEN-3 (Dithering) |
| Focuser | Moonlite |
| Planetarium Software | Stellarium | Image Session Control | APT - Astro Photography Tool v3.88, ASCOM Platform 6 |
| Lights | 80 x 120s (total 2h40'), ISO-1600, additional Biases, Flats, no Darks |
| Stacking Software | Pixinsight 1.8, Drizzle 2x |
| Image Processing | Pixinsight 1.8 |
The open cluster NGC 2175 (also known as Monkey Head Nebula) lies about 6400 light years from Earth in the constellation Orion. The cluster is surrounded by the H II emission nebula NGC 2174, a huge cloud of gas and dust that glows as the hydrogen it contains is ionised by radiation from the hot young stars in the star cluster. Its nickname derives from envisioning this glowing gas cloud as the profile view of a monkey's head.