Rosette Nebula pictures and facts

The Rosette Nebula is a huge star-forming region spanning 100 lightyears across and located 5,000 lightyears away.

It can be seen in the Monoceros constellation in the winter months, located between stars Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion and Procyon in Canis Minor.

To find the Rosette Nebula, draw a line between Betelgeuse and Procyon, then look just south of that line, about halfway along, and you'll see it.

The nebula can't be seen with the naked eye, however, so you'll need a telescope to observe it.

The Rosette Nebula's shape explained

Catalogued as NCG 2237, the Rosette Nebula lives up to its informal nickname, as its circular shape and deep, dark centre gives it a floral appearance.

At the centre of the nebula is NGC 2244, a group of stars that form a gravitationally bound open star cluster thought to be about 4 million years old.

These stars emit streams of charged particles known as stellar winds, carving out the gas and dust at the nebula's centre and giving it the Rosette nickname.

The Rosette Nebula is also known as the 'skull', because the carving of cosmic gas by stellar winds has led some observers to view it as a skull shape.

The surrounding gas that forms a ring around the dark centre is glowing because it is being blasted by radiation from nearby stars, making the Rosette Nebula an emission nebula.

Images

Below is a selection of images of the Rosette Nebula captured by BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers and astrophotographers from around the world.

For more info on photographing nebulae, read our guide to deep-sky astrophotography or find out how to fine-tune your images with our guide to deep-sky image processing.

And remember to send us your images: we'd love to see them! You can also share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.