It’s so gorgeous you can almost smell its namesake’s fragrance. This sparkling image by Paul Owen of the Rosette Nebula is our Photo of the Week for February 19, 2021.
“Finally got a clear night last night and thought it fitting to send a ‘Rosette’ to everyone with the upcoming weekend,” he wrote.
Also known as NGC 2237, the Rosette Nebula is located about 5,000 light-years away from Earth. The nebula is a Hydrogen II region in Monoceros, and is closely associated with the star cluster NGC 2244.
Owen acquired the data for this image on February 8, 2021. He used a Stellarvue SV105 triplet refractor telescope reduced to a focal length of 588mm. He used a ZWO ASI294MC Pro CMOS OSC camera, and an STC duo narrowband filter, concentrating on Hydrogen-alpha and Oxygen II.
He said he used an EQ6R German equatorial mount guided with PHD2.
Owen captured 75 light frames exposed for 180 seconds each, and 50 dark, flat and flat dark frames. The total integration time was 3.75 hours, and the image was stacked and processed in PixInsight.
Our honourable mention this week goes to Warren Finlay for his image of an angelic ice sculpture in front of the northern lights.
Finlay captured this image from his backyard in Sherwood Park, Alberta, on February 7, 2021. He said he used a Canon 6D with a Sigma 14mm lens (f/1.8), exposing the image for eight seconds.
“I sculpted this ice angel from a block of lake ice,” he wrote. “I was hoping that the sculpture wouldn’t melt before we got a night with aurora to take this photo. Fortunately, we did get aurora. Unfortunately, it was a very cold night! It was -39 C when I got this capture.”
Keep your eyes on the skies — and on the prize! Prizes for the 2020-21 SkyNews Photo of the Week contest are sponsored by Sky-Watcher, Celestron, iOptron and The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Click here for more details on the prize packages that will be awarded to the best photos this year.
