The Monkey Head Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, the Hunter.
The nebula is an H II region, a large cloud of ionised gas in which new stars are being formed. The low-density cloud is a site of intense star formation.
The Monkey Head Nebula lies about 6,400 light years from Earth. It is associated with the open cluster NGC 2175. It has the designation NGC 2174 in the New General Catalogue.
The Monkey Head Nebula is located in the same region of the sky as the famous Orion Nebula, one of the brightest diffuse nebulae in the night sky.
The Orion Nebula (Messier 42) was the first known H II region.
As the name suggests, it also lies in Orion constellation. However, while M42 lies in Orion’s Sword, the Monkey Head can be found above Betelgeuse, near Orion’s head.
NGC 2174 covers an area larger than the full Moon and can be seen in binoculars. However, one needs a larger telescope to make out any of the details.
The stellar nursery contains many young stars that are embedded within the surrounding dust and gas. These stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation which ionises the hydrogen gas, making the nebula glow.
The light and winds from the newly formed stars are dispersing the clouds in which the stars were formed. The nebula surrounds several loose clusters of young stars and will evaporate and disappear into the surrounding space within the next few million years.
The Monkey Head Nebula is located near the head of Orion, in the direction of Gemini constellation. It lies roughly a third of the distance from the bright star Alhena, Gamma Geminorum, to Alnath, Beta Tauri.
FACTS
The open cluster NGC 2175 was discovered by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654.
It lies at a distance of 6,350 light years from the solar system.
The cluster was independently discovered by the German astronomer Karl Christian Bruhns in 1857.
NGC 2175 is embedded in a diffuse nebula, designated Sh 2-252 in the Sharpless catalogue.
Monkey Head Nebula – NGC 2174
Constellation: Orion
Coordinates: 06h 09.7m (right ascension), +20°30′ (declination)
Distance: 6,400 light years (2,000 parsecs)
Apparent magnitude: 6.8
Apparent dimensions: 40′
Designations: Monkey Head Nebula, NGC 2174
0 Comments