IC 417 / Sh2-237

Emission Nebula, Auriga

December 2008. Cave Creek Canyon Observatory, Arizona Sky Village

Sh2-237, also known as NGC 1931, is an emission and reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga. The nebula has been referred to as a “miniature version of the Orion Nebula”, as it shares some of the same characteristics. It is a mixed emission-reflection nebula, and contains a smaller version of the Trapezium in its hot young star cluster centered in the emission nebula. The entire cluster/nebula complex is only about 3 arcmin in size. The distance from earth is estimated at about 7000 light years.

Telescope: ASA N16 f3.6
Mount: Astro Physics 1200GTO
Camera: SBIG STL-11000M
Guider: SBIG STL-Internal

H-alpha: 48×10 mins = 480 mins

Total Imaging Time: 8h 00m

Data Imaged remotely over 3 nights during December 2008.
Data acquisition & Processing by David Churchill.