Fox Fur Nebula - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Fox Fur Nebula is a Nebula

Nebula

A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...

located in Monoceros

Monoceros

Monoceros is a faint constellation on the celestial equator. Its name is Greek for unicorn. Its definition is attributed to the 17th-century Dutch cartographer Petrus Plancius. It is bordered by Orion to the west, Gemini to the north, Canis Major to the south and Hydra to the east...

and included in the NGC 2264

NGC 2264

NGC 2264 is the designation number of the New General Catalogue that identifies two astronomical objects as a single object:*the Cone Nebula,*the Christmas Tree Cluster,Two other objects are within this designation but not officially included:...

Region. In the Sharpless catalog

Sharpless catalog

The Sharpless catalog is a list of 312 HII regions , intended to be comprehensive north of declination -27°. The first edition was publishing 1953 with 142 objects and second and final version was published by US astronomer Stewart Sharpless in 1959 with 312 objects.In 1953 Stewart Sharpless joined...

it is number 273.

Information

This enigmatic formation of gas and dust lies in the constellation of Monoceros

Monoceros

(the Unicorn) not far off the right arm of Orion

Orion (constellation)

Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky...

. This is a close-up of a small section of a much larger complex, generally known as the Christmas Tree cluster. The mysterious Cone Nebula

Cone Nebula

The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 800 parsecs or 2,600 light-years away from Earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity...

is also a part of this same cloud.

The red regions of this nebula are caused by hydrogen gas that has been stimulated to emit its own light by the copious ultraviolet radiation coming from the hot, blue stars of the cluster. The blue areas shine by a different process: they are mainly dust clouds that reflect the bluish light of the same star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

s.

Its popular name arises because the nebula looks like the head of a stole

Stole (shawl)

A stole is a lady's shawl, especially a formal shawl of expensive fabric used around the shoulders over a party dress or ballgown.A stole is typically narrower than a shawl, and of simpler construction than a cape; being a length of a quality material, wrapped and carried about the shoulders or arms...

made from the fur

Fur

Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...

of a red fox.

External links

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