The Rosette Nebula is an 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 Rosette Nebula is a cloud of dust containing enough material to make about 10,000 stars like our Sun. In the center of the nebula, and off to the right hand side of this image, is a cluster of hot, bright young stars. These are warming up the surrounding gas and dust, making it appear blue.
The Rosette is a very busy area! A survey of the nebula with the Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed the presence of numerous new-born stars inside optical Rosette Nebula and studded within a dense molecular cloud. Altogether, approximately 2500 young stars lie in this star-forming complex, including the massive O-type stars HD 46223 and HD 46150, which are primarily responsible for blowing the ionized bubble. Most of the ongoing star-formation activity is occurring in the dense molecular cloud to the south east of the bubble.
Another interesting tidbit of knowledge – On April 16, 2019 the Oklahoma Legislature passed HB1292, making the Rosette Nebula the official state astronomical object. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed it into law April 22, 2019.
This photograph is comprised of 318 images totaling ~20 hours of exposure taken with a ZWO ASI071MC Pro camera and a WO Z73 scope w/flat7a riding a Skywatcher EQ6r Pro equitorial mount from my driveway parking area. Captured remotely on my laptop running APT & PHD2. Processed manually in PixInsight with PS doing the jpeg conversion.
There are 2 Caldwell designations as well a 5 New General Catalog (NGC) items within this cluster. They can be read about in Wikipedia via a google search. I dare ya!
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