Monkey Head Nebula
NGC 2174 · Nebula · Orion
- Status
- Captured
- Light gathered
- 4 h 50 min
- Goal
- 4 h
- Nights
- 2
- First and last night
- 1 October … 2 October
- Image from
- 2 October 2026
- Telescope
- DWARF Mini, city balcony
About the object
The Monkey Head Nebula on the border of Orion and Gemini, a cloud of glowing hydrogen in which photographs reveal a monkey's profile. It is inflated from within by the young cluster NGC 2175, and along the cavity edges the hot radiation of stars carves dense dust pillars like those in the Eagle Nebula. The nebula is fairly bright and shows up quickly in dual-band even under a city sky.
Distance: about 6,400 light-years, apparent size in the sky: ≈ 40′, constellation Orion.
How it was shot
Everything here was shot with a DWARF Mini smart telescope from a balcony in a city in Ukraine: light-polluted sky, only the eastern half of it visible, and a roof overhang that cuts off the south. 2 nights (1 night in September and 1 in October), 3 sessions, 364 frames with exposures of 60 s, a dual-band Hα/OIII filter that passes only the glow of hydrogen and oxygen and blocks most of the city light pollution. The stack holds 4 h 50 min of light; the longest night, 1 October, gave 3 h 9 min. The goal for this object is 4 h, and it is reached. First night 1 October 2026, last one 2 October 2026.
Monkey Head Nebula in the night log: 30 September, 1 October.
How it went
The first session ran under a 79 percent Moon and through clouds: of 169 frames the device stacked only 101, and the ones it rejected really do not belong in the stack. Two more dual-band nights at 60 seconds followed. The head is recognisable, the pillars on the cavity edge are visible, but the four-hour goal is still far off and the nebula waits for clear nights.
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