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NGC 2175S, THE MONKEY HEAD NEBULA, on 2023-12-11

This photo was taken in my backyard in Kyle, Texas through a 6-inch Sky-Watcher f/4 Telescope, on a Sky-Watcher EQ6-R mount, with a ZWO ASI533MC PRO color camera using an Optolong L Pro Light Pollution Filter. The picture consists of 60 stacked subframes x 240 seconds each.

The Monkey Head Nebula is an emission nebula about 6,400 light years away in the constellation of Orion. Glowing gas and dark dust does not survive well in the Monkey Head Nebula. Young Stars near the center of the nebula generate stellar winds and high energy radiation that causes the Nebula's material to shift into complex shapes. The nebula is primarily composed of hydrogen which glows at infrared wavelengths due to the radiation.