January 2018 - Picture of the Month
VdB 93 in the Constellation of Monoceros
Another year and one more fabulous patch of nebulosity. Sorry, I couldn't resist this wonderful image by Bob and Janice Fera that covers about 40 arc-minutes of sky.
Near the border of Monoceros and Canis Major, the area around VdB 93 possesses a few identifiers... as you might expect. IC 2177 and Sh 2-292 seem to be amongst them, as is the arguably more memorable Seagull Nebula.
We're looking at the head of the Seagull Nebula in this image, with the bright Be star HD53367 in the centre lighting up the surrounding gas. HD53367 is also a close double and variable star (RST3489 and V0750 Mon respectively).
The remainder of the Seagull Nebula lies out of shot to the East (up in this case) as Sh 2-296, an HII emission region.
James Whinfrey - Website Administrator.