In full transparency, NGC 2244 really refers to the open cluster associated with this brilliant nebula in Monoceros. You could also call it by Sharpless 275 (Sh2-275) or Caldwell 49 and and be correct. No matter what you call it, it’s a jewel just off the eastern shoulder of Orion.

The nebula is a bright H II region, ionized by the hot, young, O-type stars near its center. These blue stars are also responsible the rose shape as their stellar winds “blow” the hydrogen cloud outward.

Under dark skies, the cluster is visible to the unaided eye. If you draw an obtuse angle from Orion’s head, to his shoulder, then nearly directly to the east, you’ll come across a faint fuzzy/bright area. Using averted vision, it becomes much more apparent.

This image was one of my first attempts at creating an “HaRGB” image. I used a one-shot color camera (QHY 268C) to capture regular RGB (color) data. In another session, I shot the same spot of the sky using a dual narrowband filter from Antlia, then used the red channel of that to apply as hydrogen-alpha data. I may have to make a blog post about how this is possible…