Puneet Varma (Editor)

NGC 2261

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Subtype
  
variable nebula

Declination
  
+8° 45′

Apparent dimensions (V)
  
2′

Constellation
  
Monoceros

Right ascension
  
6 39 10

Distance
  
2,500 ly

Magnitude
  
9

Apparent magnitude (V)
  
9

Hubble’s Variable Nebula itself is dusty, the finder chart shows the location of the nebula. It has a 37 Cluster on the top right, NGC 2264, on the top left with the Hubble’s Variable Nebula below it. In the middle left is the NGC 2238, and below is the NGC 2244. On the side left is the NGC 2301, on the bottom left is the NGC 2232, and on the bottom right is Orion’s belt.

Designations
  
Hubble's Variable Nebula, Caldwell 46

Similar
  
NGC 2360, NGC 2362, NGC 2506, NGC 2419, NGC 2477

Ngc 2261 la cometina variabile


NGC 2261 (also known as Hubble's Variable Nebula or Caldwell 46) is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis (R Mon), which is not directly visible itself.

The Hubble's Variable Nebula is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis (R Mon), which is not directly visible itself.

NGC 2261 was imaged as Palomar Observatory's Hale Telescope's first light by Edwin Hubble on January 26, 1949, some 20 years after the Palomar Observatory project began in 1928. Hubble had studied the nebula previously at Yerkes and Mt. Wilson.

Hubble’s Variable Nebula is dusty, with a circle at the center an arrow on the left and an R Mon in the middle with the Hubble’s Variable Nebula, on the top left is the Basel 7 with a circle and a + sign inside.

One explanation proposed for the variability is that dense clouds of dust near R Mon periodically block the illumination from the star.

The Hubble's Variable Nebula is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis (R Mon), which is not directly visible itself.
The Hubble's Variable Nebula is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis (R Mon), which is not directly visible itself.

The Hubble's Variable Nebula is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. The nebula is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis (R Mon), which is not directly visible itself.

References

NGC 2261 Wikipedia
(Text) CC BY-SA