The RCW Catalogue is an Astronomical catalogue of Hα-emission regions

H II region

An H II region is a large, low-density cloud of partially ionized gas in which star formation has recently taken place. The short-lived, blue stars forged in these regions emit copious amounts of ultraviolet light, ionizing the surrounding gas...

 in the southern Milky Way

Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...

, described in . It has 180 objects and includes many of the earlier Gum Catalog

Gum catalog

The Gum catalog is an astronomical catalog of 84 emission nebulae in the southern sky. It was made by the Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum at Mount Stromlo Observatory using wide field photography. Gum published his findings in 1955 in a study entitled A study of diffuse southern H-alpha...

 (84 items) objects, and the later Caldwell catalogue

Caldwell catalogue

The Caldwell Catalogue is an astronomical catalog of 109 bright star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, better known as Patrick Moore, as a complement to the Messier Catalogue.The Messier Catalogue is used...

 included some RCW. There is also some overlap with 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...

-2 (312 items), although it primarily covered the northern hemisphere, whereas the RCW and Gum primarily covered the southern.

The Catalogue was compiled by Alexander William Rodgers, Colin T. Campbell and John Bartlett Whiteoak, who led by Bart Bok

Bart Bok

Bart Jan Bok was a Dutch-American astronomer.He was born in the Netherlands, but spent a good deal of his childhood days growing up in what was then known as the Dutch East Indies. He was educated at the Leiden and Groningen Universities. In 1929 he married fellow astronomer Dr...

, catalogued southern nebulae while working at the Mount Stromlo Observatory

Mount Stromlo Observatory

Mount Stromlo Observatory located just outside of Canberra, Australia, is part of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University .-History:...

 in Australia in the 1960s.

Examples

Some of RCW catalog items; click on image for image credit, most of which are either various amateur astronomers, the ESO, ESA, or NASA

RCW	Name	Images	Names & Designations
RCW 38	RCW 38 RCW 38 RCW 38 is an embedded cluster located about 5,500 light years away in the direction of the constellation Vela . The cluster is composed of several short lived massive stars. Many of these stars will go on to explode as supernovae....		RCW 38
RCW 49	RCW 49		Gum 29
RCW 57	RCW 57		NGC 3582
RCW 86	RCW 86		RCW 86
RCW 108	RCW 108		Gum 53
RCW 124	NGC 6302 NGC 6302 NGC 6302 is a bipolar planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpius. The structure in the nebula is among the most complex ever observed in planetary nebulae...		Sh2-6, NGC 6302, Bug Nebula, PK 349+01 1, Butterfly Nebula, RCW 124, Gum 60, Caldwell 69
RCW 127	NGC 6334 NGC 6334 NGC 6334 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Scorpius. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel in 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-External links:* — ESO Photo Release*Astronomy Picture of the Day - 2010 April 21...		ESO 392-EN 009, Sharpless 8, RCW 127, Gum 64, NGC 6334
RCW 131	NGC 6357 NGC 6357 NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius. This nebula was given the name War and Peace Nebula by the Midcourse Space Experiment scientists because of its appearance. They said that in infrared images the bright, western part resembles a dove, while the eastern part...		Sh2-11, NGC 6357, RCW 131, Gum 66, War and Peace Nebula
RCW 146	Lagoon Nebula Lagoon Nebula The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region....		Sh2 25, RCW 146, Gum 72
RCW 147	Trifid Nebula Trifid Nebula The Trifid Nebula is an H II region located in Sagittarius. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'...		Sh2 30, M20, NGC 6514, RCW 147, Gum 76
RCW 160	Omega Nebula Omega Nebula The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764...		Omega Nebula, M17, NGC 6618, Swan Nebula, Sharpless 45, RCW 160, Gum 81
RCW 165	Eagle Nebula Eagle Nebula The Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle...		Sh2-49, Messier 16, NGC 6611, RCW 165, Gum 83

List

External links

• The RCW Catalog (details and photographs of objects)
• Galactic Explorers: Gum, Bok and Sharpless (history)
• ESO, RCW 86 video