Description
This is the Rosette Nebula (C50), an iconic cloud of dust silhouetted against glowing ionized gases in the constellation Monoceros. The rosette name is less of a Rorschach test than for some nebulas, but others see the shape of a skull in these clouds!
To tease out the details of the nebula from its original upper colors (upper left), we separate out ionized hydrogen (upper right) and ionized oxygen (lower left), and recombining them (lower right). These four panels are arranged in an Andy Warhol-inspired composition.
This image combines 16 hours of five-minute and ten-minute exposures from a 115mm refractor telescope, taken from my Indiana backyard in February 2023.
For more technical details, please see: https://www.astrobin.com/hmfzl1