APOTD: Molecular Cloud in Monoceros

Image: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and N.S. van der Bliek (NOAO/AURA/NSF) [high-resolution] Read NOAO Conditions of Use before downloading

Caption: NOAO

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic II camera on the Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory on January 11th, 2012. It shows a portion of the giant Monceros R2 molecular cloud. It is a location of massive star formation, particularly in the location of the bright red nebula just below the center of the image. The image was generated with observations in the Sulphur [SII] (blue) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) filters. In this image, north is to the right, and east is up.