Douglas J Struble captured this satisfying shot of Sh2-284 in Monoceros with his SVX102T-R. This emission nebula rests roughly 15,000 light-years away from Earth and has a diameter between 150 and 200 light-years. At its center, a cluster of young stars, Dolidze 25, ionize the hydrogen gas in the surrounding cloud. It is this ionization that gives this nebula its bright orange and red colors.

According to Douglas:

Perhaps the most interesting features in Sh2-284 are what astronomers call "elephant trunks." Elephant trunks are monstrous pillars of dense gas and dust. The most famous examples of them are the "Pillars of Creation," found in an iconic image of the Eagle nebula from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Deep inside Sh2-284 resides an open star cluster, called Dolidze 25, which is emitting vast amounts of radiation in all directions, along with stellar winds. These stellar winds and radiation are clearing out a cavern inside the surrounding gas and dust, creating the void seen in the center. HII regions go hand in hand with star formation, and indeed the stars in the central Dolidze 25 cluster have just recently formed. They're hot, young, bright stars, with ages ranging from 1.5 to 13 million years; infants by astronomical standards. In comparison, the sun is about 4.6 billion years old.

Other Designations: LBN 983

Details:

Object: Sh2-284 Emission Nebula in HOO

Integration Time: 19h 19′

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale: 8.00

Completion Date: 5-24-24

Location: Taylor, MI (EST) USA

Imaging Telescope: Stellarvue SVX102T-R

Aperture: 102mm

Camera: ASI183MM-Pro

Filters: Astrodon Ha, OIII & SII

Software: SGP, PHD2, PixInsight & Photoshop CC

Image Credited to:

Future World Media.

Douglas J Struble

References:

Grelin, A. &. D. (2024, March 25). SH2-284 - Emission nebula in monoceros - Astrophotography. galactichunter. https://www.galactic-hunter.com/post/sh2-284#:~:text=How%20big%20is%20Sh2-284%3F%20The%20nebula%20has,a%20diameter%20of%20150%20to%20200%20light-years.

sh2-284 - Big Amateur Telescope. (2023, January 2). Big Amateur Telescope. https://bigamateurtelescope.com/project/sh2-284/

X, S. (2023, June 27). “Smiling cat” Sh2-284 nebula captured in new image. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-cat-sh2-nebula-captured-image.html

information@eso.org. (n.d.). The Sh2-284 nebula, imaged by the VLT Survey Telescope. www.eso.org. https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2309a/