Rosette emission-line image

This stunning emission-line image of the Rosette nebula (NGC2237) has been re-processed in support of NOAO Press Release 04-03. The Rosette nebula is found in the constellation Monoceros (the Unicorn). This images was taken at the National Science Foundation's 0.9-m telescope on Kitt Peak with the Mosaic camera, and is presented here in false color (hydrogen alpha, OIII oxygen, and SII sulfur respectively red, green and blue, using five ten-minute exposures each). The Rosette is a prominent star formation region, glowing due to ultraviolet light from the young, hot, blue stars whose winds also cleared the central hole. It is enormously large on the sky, covering more than six times the area of the full moon. An approximately true color version at lower resolution from the Schmidt telescope is also available.