Sh2-252 — Monkey Head Nebula
HII Region in Orion
About
The Monkey Head Nebula, a glowing hydrogen cloud in Orion about 6,400 light-years away, also catalogued as NGC 2174 and tied to the star cluster NGC 2175. Édouard Stephan found it in 1877, and Hubble's 2014 infrared anniversary image showed it under the Sh2-252 name.
Imaging tips
- About 40′ across, so 610–1010 mm on APS-C (930–1550 mm full frame) fills a third to half of the frame.
- Emission nebula: narrowband suits it. One imager collected 9 hours of 5-minute subs through 3 nm filters and mapped them to the Hubble SHO palette, from a Bortle 8 backyard.
- Designations vary: depending on the source, NGC 2174 and NGC 2175 mean the whole nebula, its brightest knot or the cluster, so check what a catalogue means.
- Best in December and January; it peaks near 60° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 40′
- Magnitude
- —
- Coordinates
- RA 6h 9.7m, Dec +20° 29′
- Framing, APS-C
- 610–1010 mm
- Framing, full frame
- 930–1550 mm
- Best months
- Jan, Dec
- Peak altitude
- 61° from 50°N, 76° from 35°N