Located about 5,000 light years from Earth, this composite image shows the Rosette star formation region.  The X-rays from the Chandra X ray Observatory reveal hundreds of young stars in the central cluster and fainter clusters on either side. Optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (purple, orange, green and blue) show large areas of gas and dust, including giant pillars that remain behind after intense radiation from massive stars has eroded the more diffuse gas.

The Rosetta Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) is a large, circular H 11 region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy.The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) 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 some 5,200 light years from Earth (although estimates of the distance vary considerably, down to 4,900 light-years ) and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The radiation from the young stars excite the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see. The mass of the nebula is estimated to be around 10,000 solar masses.

This image of the heart of the cluster was taken in late December 2011 with a Canon 40D DSLR and 8" Richey Chretien Astrograph with a 0.8 focal reducer / flatner at F/6.4  and comprises of  12 seperate images x 7 minutes @ ISO 1600. Star difraction spikes are software created.

The M1 Crab Nebula was the first object to be catalogued by Charles Messier in 1758. However, historical records suggest that Asian astronomers observed it first in 1054 when it became visible as a new star, bright enough to be seen in the daytime. A remnant of a supernova, its name is taken simply because Irish astronomer William Parsons’ initial sketch taken in 1848 resembled a crab, and the name has stuck ever since. The Crab Nebula lies in the constellation of Taurus, but its distance is difficult to gauge. The best guess is that it is between 6000 and 7000 light years away. It is roughly 13 light years across, and is seen as an expanding shell of glowing filaments made up of ionised helium, hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and other assorted elements. At its centre sits what remains of the progenitor star. Now a pulsar measuring 30km across, it spins once every 33 milliseconds. It fires bursts of electromagnetic radiation from its poles which help illuminate the Crab Nebula to 75,000 times the luminosity of our sun, and cause a shock front that changes the appearance of the nebula almost daily. An intriguing mystery suggests that the combined mass of the nebula and the pulsar do not actually add up to the predicted mass of the progenitor star, with estimations suggesting that the progenitor star could have lost up to 5 times the mass of our own sun before it went supernova. To date nobody knows how or why, nor do they know where this large amount of material went.

Article researched by Craig Grice.

This image was taken over 5 evenings in late December 2011 comprising 24 x 7 minute images @ ISO 1600 with a Canon 40D DSLR and an 8" Ritchey Chrietien Astrograph and 0.8 focal reducer / flatner making an F/6.4 instrument. Star defraction spikes are software created.

This latest image of The Western Veil or " Witch`s Broom" was taken at F/8 with the Ritchey Chretien Astrograph and Canon 40D modified DSLR. Exposure settings are 13 x 300 seconds @ ISO 800. Set out to take at least 30 images but cloud cover stopped the session.

This supernova remnant lies about 1400 light years away towards Cygnus.The bright star 52 Cygni is visible with the unaided eye at a dark site but it is not related to the ancient supernova.

This image was captured in Nebulosity and processed in Images Plus and Photoshop CS5.

The North American Nebula ( NGC 7000 )....This nebula is lying 3 degrees from bright star Deneb, Alpha Cygni. Some people claim it may be visible to the naked eye under good, dark conditions, and a preferred object for amateur astrophotographers. The distance to the Nebula is estimated at 1,600 light years. This image is of the Wall Area.Cygnus's Wall is a term for the "Mexico and Central America part" of the North America Nebula. The Cygnus Wall exhibits the most concentrated star formations in the nebula.

This image was taken with a Canon 40D DSLR and 8" Ritchey Chretien Astrograph at F/5. 20 x 200 seconds @ ISO 1600. 10 dark frames were subtracted. Image and Calibrating in Nebulosity and Processing in Images Plus and Photoshop CS5.