NGC 2237 · ROSETTE NEBULA FEB 2026
§ DEEP-SKY · TARGET
NGC 2237
Rosette Nebula
- TYPE
- Emission nebula + open cluster
- CONSTELLATION
- Monoceros
- DISTANCE
- 5,200 ly
- MAGNITUDE
- +6.0
- APPARENT SIZE
- 80' × 80'
ACQUISITION
DATE
Feb 2026
LOCATION
Borrego Springs, CA · Bortle 2
INTEGRATION
11h 10m
PALETTE
SHO (Hubble)
SUBS
670 × 60s
SEEING
2.0"
FILTERS
SII 3nm · Ha 3nm · OIII 3nm
A 130-light-year-wide cloud of hydrogen with an open cluster blown through its middle. The cluster (NGC 2244) is what's ionizing it.
§ 01 · THE NIGHT
How this one came together
Second attempt at SHO. The first one had awful green. This time I kept Ha narrow and pushed SII harder, and the palette finally resolved into something that reads without arguing.
§ 02 · PROCESSING
Workflow
- SHO with Ha on green SII on red OIII on blue
- SCNR green to kill the natural cyan cast
- Selective saturation on the dust ropes
- Stars processed RGB and re-added
§ 03 · GEAR
Equipment
- SCOPE
- Printed 200/800 Newt · OTA v2.0
- CAMERA
- ASI2600MM Pro
- MOUNT
- EQ6-R Pro
- FILTERS
- Antlia SHO triplet
- GUIDING
- OAG