IC 447, Dreyer's Nebula

[Jerry_Lodriguss]

Here’s a shot of IC 447, Dreyer's Nebula, a reflection nebula in Monoceros. This area doesn’t seem to have been photographed much, probably because of the more spectacular Cone Nebula region which is just a couple of degrees to the east of IC 447.

http://www.astropix.com/IC447.html

Click on the link to see a larger version with more information.

I haven’t been able to find out any information on why IC 447 is named after Dreyer. It was actually discovered by E.E. Barnard in 1894 and 1895. He reported it to John Louis Emil Dreyer, who compiled the New General Catalog (NGC) in 1888 and Index Catalog (IC) in 1895 and 1908.

This image was shot over the course of two nights with the scope mounted on an Astro-Physics 1100 mount. The mount is on loan from my very good friend Jim Sweeney until I get a new AP Mach1 next month.

[Tony_]

Nice one Jerry!

I like these images of lesser known objects.

Tony.

[Jerry_Lodriguss]

Update on the naming of IC 447.

Apparently, calling it "Dreyer's Nebula" was an error on my part.

For some reason, there are some references to the IC 447 on the web as "Dreyer's Nebula."

This appears to be an incorrect crediting of the name to John Louis Emil Dreyer, who compiled the New General Catalog (NGC) in 1888 and Index Catalog (IC) in 1895 and 1908. Barnard reported his discoveries and their positions to Dreyer who was compiling the catalogs at the time.

Dr. Harold G. Corwin Jr., author of the NGC/IC Historical Notes & Accurate Positions Database Files and Notes on the IC objects, particularly those missing, misidentified, or otherwise unusual, points out several interesting misidentifications and misattributions involving IC 447 and IC 446.

In a post on Amateur Astronomy Observing List on Yahoo Groups, Corwin says Barnard himself refers to NGC objects with the name "Dreyer", as in "Dreyer 447" or "Dreyer Index Catalog 447" for what we now just call IC 447. So when Barnard used the term "Dreyer 447", he was referring to IC 447 with "Dreyer" referring to the catalogs.

Jerry

[Atmos]

That is an interesting tidbit of information that I will certainly have to try to remember.
It is a nice image too, good star colours and dusty lanes :)