NGC2261, Hubble's Variable Nebula

NGC2261, Hubble's Variable Nebula

Downloadable versions (see NOAO Conditions of Use):
200 x 300 14 kb color JPEG(on this page)
400 x 600 42 kb color JPEG
1366 x 2048 592 kb color JPEG
1366 x 2048 2.7 Mb 8-bit color TIFF
1366 x 2048 8.2 Mb 24-bit color TIFF

This image of Hubble's Variable Nebula in the constellation of Monoceros was taken with the Kitt Peak National Observatory's 0.9-meter telescope in March 1995. This deep version of the image shows the faint tail extending down to the south from the nebula. To the north, almost directly above the nebula, is a cluster of faint red dots comprising the Herbig Haro object known as HH39. This object shows strong emission lines, especially those of hydrogen and nitrogen (which provide the red color), and gets its energy from a strong outflow, or jet, emitted by R Monocerotis, which is the young star at the southern end of NGC2261. A shallower realization shows the interior details of the nebula.

Minimum credit line: N.A.Sharp, J.McGaha/NOAO/AURA/NSF (for details see Conditions of Use)

Return to: nebulae page, emission nebulae page.

NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc. under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation

Comments by e-mail to images@noao.edu