The Rosette Nebula (also known as SH2-275) 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 cluster and nebula lie at a distance of 5,000 light-years (29,400 trillion miles) from Earth and measure roughly 130 light years (764 trillion miles) in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excites the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see.
This particular image is comprised of 160 subs @ 10s, 12 subs @ 300s, and 16 subs @ 600s (4+ hours over 3 nights) and was calibrated using 60 dark frames @ 10s, 60 dark frames @ 300s, 60 dark frames @ 600s, 60 bias frames, 60 flat frames, and 60 dark flat frames. It was stacked using the Sirilic python script and Siril, and post-processed in Photoshop.
