NGC 3576 and NGC 3603 Nebulae

clic for 42% size 1376 x 916 (585 kB)

clic here for 70% size 2293 x 1526 (1400 kB)


About this Image

These rarely imaged nebulae are situated between the Southern Cross and Eta-Carinae. Both nebulea are very active starforming regions and emit strongly in the light of ionized hydrogen (H-Alpha). They are 7.000 and 14.000 light years away respectively. NGC 3576 with its characteristic loops formed by stellar winds also contains a number of prominent Bok Globules, dark dense stellar nurseries, find a high resolved image here.

The more distant NGC 3603 (left) in another arm of our galaxy may well be the largest nebula in our galaxy and features concentrations of young, hot and massive Wolf-Rayet stars, much like at the center of the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070). The more yellow color is caused by the extinction of the interstellar gas and dust between the object and us.
North is up.


Technical Details
Optics

140mm TEC refractor with TEC flattener at f/7

Mount AP-400 GEM
Camera SBIG STL-11000M at -20C, internal filter wheel
Filters Astrodon RGB II (Thorsten Brandes)
Date May 07, 2008.
Location Hakos/Namibia
Sky Conditions mag 6.5, FWHM 2.5", temperature 10 C,
Exposure RGB= 30:30:30 min (10-minute sub-exposures)
all 1x1.
Processing Image aquisition by Thorsten Brandes in Maxim DL 4.0;
Image calibration, aligning, mean stacking, color synthesis in CCDstack;
Final processing in Photoshop CS3