The Witch Head Nebula (IC 2118)

Posted by BobFranke
on Saturday, January 4, 2014

The nebula is shown rotated 180°, with North to the bottom.

IC 2118, also known as the Witch Head Nebula, is a faint reflection nebula in the constellation Eridanus, at a distance of about 900 light-years from Earth. The nearby bright star Rigel illuminates the nebula. Although Rigel is a blue star, IC 2118 gets much of its blue color because the gas and dust scatter blue light more so than red. This same effect makes our sky appear blue.

Observations, at radio wavelengths, show areas of carbon monoxide emission throughout parts of IC 2118. This indicates the presence of molecular clouds and star formation within the nebula.

Takahashi FSQ-106ED scope
SBIG STF-8300 camera
Baader LRGB filters
Losmandy G11 mount
15.75 Hrs. total LRGB exposure

For more info see:
http://bf-astro.com/witch/witch.htm

Comments
To leave a comment you must be a member of our community.
Login to your account now, or register for an account to start participating.
No one has commented yet.
Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

ADVERTISEMENT
FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER

Receive news, sky-event information, observing tips, and more from Astronomy's weekly email newsletter. View our Privacy Policy.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Find us on Facebook