NGC2244 The Rosette Nebula Ablaze! (3 years in the Making)

[Comet Hunter]

NGC 2244 (also known as Caldwell 50 or the Satellite Cluster) is an open cluster in the Rosette Nebula, which is located in the constellation Monoceros. This cluster has several O-type stars, super hot stars that generate large amounts of radiation and stellar wind.

The age of this cluster has been estimated to be less than 5 million years. The brightest star in the cluster is 12 Monocerotis, a foreground K-class giant. The two brightest members of the cluster are HD 46223 of spectral class O4V, 400,000 times brighter than the Sun, and approximately 50 times more massive, and HD 46150, whose spectral type is O5V, has a luminosity 450,000 time larger than that of our star, and is up to 60 times more massive, but it may actually be a double star.

(Source: Wikipedia)

For all 3 years I used the same kit which consited of:
Stellarview SVX 102 Rapter telescope
ASI 2600 MC Pro Camera
Altlia ALPT-5nm Filter
Skywatched EQ6R Pro mount
Asiair Pro tracking/capturing software
Processed in Pixinsight
The image is made up of (471) 5 min long light frames which:
88 were taken on 1-18-2024, 169 taken 1-20 & 21 2024, 100 taken 1-8-2025 and lastly 94 taken 1-20-2026
which totaled over 37 hours of intagration time

Was it worth it?

Let me know your throughts

with stars

 

[AlanLichty]

I like the version with the stars included - very nice work. Five million years old seems relatively juvenile for a deep space object.

 

[JimFox]

I am liking them both Ed. And yes!!!! It was worth the 3 years of data.

You have a seriously 3D looking nebula with this. I think because the nebula fills the frame so much that having or not having stars isn't making much different to me.

I would like to see some crops of this. I think you could crop in pretty tight in this baby and pull out some more images from it Ed.

 

[Comet Hunter]

I am liking them both Ed. And yes!!!! It was worth the 3 years of data.

You have a seriously 3D looking nebula with this. I think because the nebula fills the frame so much that having or not having stars isn't making much different to me.

I would like to see some crops of this. I think you could crop in pretty tight in this baby and pull out some more images from it Ed.

Thanks and I agree, the detail is such I can do some interesting closeups

 

[Mike Lewis]

Ed,

That's a great result on this wonderful object. It is one of those objects that looks good at every magnification and there is always more to see with more data. I like this result, especially the one with stars. A much more vibrant color mix than many of your images really makes it pop. Like Jim says, almost a 3D feel to this one. Wonderful job!

ML

 

[Andy Elliott]

That's a great rendition, all that data and perseverance certainly paid off! You have managed to get a great feeling of depth and love the colours. I've always liked this target both with and without stars. Great job.