Sh2-284

Distance: 15,000 Light Years

Sh2-284 is a HII star forming region of gas and dust located in the constellation Monoceros approximately 15 thousand light years from the Earth. Many thanks to ams.astrophotography for suggesting this target. I like it because its relatively unknown and if we get enough folks shooting it we should be able to produce a unique image.   Along the edges of Sh2-284 are several “elephant trunk” formations which should come out nicely in scopes that have a longer focal length.  These pillars are formed by intense radiation and stellar winds radiating from the very hot stars of the central open cluster designated Dolidze 25.  The radiation and wind from the cluster is responsible for clearing the central void in the surrounding nebula.  Dolidze 25 is a very young cluster with an estimated age of approximately 3 to 4 million years.

Longer than 1200FL?

Worth pointing out that although this is a regular target with a 2 degree(ish) FOV and NOT a lucky imaging target those of us with larger scopes can ZOOM in and get some nice details on the pillars. I think the regular reference frame with its pixel scale of 1.47arc seconds per pixel should work but if you think this is too large please message me and I will upload a higher resolution reference frame.