February’s deep sky: Wondrous nebulae

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Basudeb Chakrabarti from Heaven’s Mirror Observatory in Australia captured this image of the Dolphin Head Nebula on February 8, 2022. Basudeb wrote: “Deep sky object Sh2-308 – more popularly known as Dolphin Head Nebula – is an H-II region [a shining cloud of gas in space, energized by a hot, young, massive star]. It lies about 4,530 light-years from Earth, toward the constellation Canis Major the Greater Dog. The massive Wolf-Rayet star, EZ Canis Majoris (which is the bright one near the center), formed the nebula about 70,000 years ago. It threw off its outer hydrogen layers, revealing inner layers of heavier elements. Fast stellar winds, blowing at 3.8 million mph (1,700 km/s), create the bubble-shaped nebula as they sweep up slower moving material from an earlier phase of the star’s evolution. The nebula is approximately 60 light-years wide, covering slightly more sky than a full moon.” Thank you, Basudeb!

February photos of the deep sky

Enjoy these February deep-sky photos taken by members of the EarthSky community. Do you have a great photo to share? Submit it to us here.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Michael Terhune in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, captured this image on February 19, 2022. Michael wrote: “My first image of the Rosette Nebula! This is a really beautiful target to image in the winter, located around 5,000 light-years from earth. Hope everyone’s been having plenty of clear nights lately!” Thank you, Michael!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Clayton in Devon, United Kingdom, also caught the Rosette Nebula, on February 10, 2022. David wrote: “Rosette Nebula in constellation of Monoceros.” Thank you, David!

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Carl Chivers in Seligman, Arizona, took this image of the Orion Nebula on February 4, 2022. Thank you, Carl!

February galaxies

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Forister took this image from Charlottesville, Virginia, on February 21, 2022. Peter wrote: “The ‘Starburst’ (M82) and ‘Bode’s’ (M81) galaxies in the Big Dipper. Shot from central Virginia, with about 3 hours of exposure time with my camera and telephoto lens setup.” Thank you, Peter!

Bottom line: Members of the EarthSky community shared these amazing photos of February’s deep sky. Have a great photo of your own? Submit it to EarthSky Community Photos.

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