A Cosmic Skull

[Andy01 (Andy)]

Some say it's the Rosette Nebula; others say it's the Flaming Skull Nebula - no one really knows why, but we can agree it's NGC 2237!

Amazing thing Pareidolia; once you've seen the skull, you can never unsee it!

Here is my take on NGC 2237 in HaO3LRGB from a dark site in rural Victoria, Australia. I was inspired by Josep Druidis' "Natural NB" version of this taken a while back.

This vast emission nebula lies about 5,200 light-years distant in the constellation Monocerous.
Also known as the Satellite Cluster, NGC 2244 appears in the nebula's centre; these hot young stars were formed from the nebula’s material in the last 5 million years.

The stars in the Satellite Cluster are responsible for the nebula’s glow as their radiation ionizes the surrounding clouds of nebulosity, causing them to emit their own light.

Can you see the skull too?

ASTROBIN

Chroma Blue 2": 15×240″(1h)
Chroma Green 2": 15×240″(1h)
Chroma H-alpha 5nm Bandpass 2": 32×900″(8h)
Chroma OIII 3nm Bandpass 2": 40×900″(10h)
Chroma Red 2": 15×240″(1h)
Integration: 21h

[Peter Ward]

A very tidy rendition.

Skull? Nup. Definitely looks like the Osso buco that was on special
in Woolies last week.

[Mickoid (Michael)]

No, I think Andy's right, I reckon I can see a skull in there too! Great colours Andy, rich and sharp. If you took this one recently, you must have got up mighty early to catch it.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Interesting rendition, not the usual, different, nice I know this might sound weird and perhaps I'm splitting hairs here but I'm not sure the nebula colour and hues quite complement the RGB star colours...something looks a bit off? Not sure if it is the stars or nebula Still, overall, it looks pretty cool as an image though with your usual interesting composition/framing and nice processing...and yeah, can see the skull, very cool...looks a bit like a monkey or gorilla brow too

Mike

[petershah (Peter Shah)]

I just love the fact you have brought out those beautiful blue/pinks quite often balanced out....a stunning rendition

[JA]

That's a lovely image Andy

Now that you point it out, AND in your narrowband colour palette, yes there's definitely a skull there with clearly defined eye sockets, brow ridges and even the nasal cavity and the fine vertical bone (Ethmoid/Vomer?) within the nose.

Best
JA

[Dave882 (David)]

That’s lovely. Yep can see a skull- something inspired by the ‘day of the dead’ festival. Wow that colour!!

[Andy01 (Andy)]

Originally Posted by Mickoid

No, I think Andy's right, I reckon I can see a skull in there too! Great colours Andy, rich and sharp. If you took this one recently, you must have got up mighty early to catch it.

Thanks for your nice feedback Mick. That one's from way back in January.

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Interesting rendition, not the usual, different, nice I know this might sound weird and perhaps I'm splitting hairs here but I'm not sure the nebula colour and hues quite complement the RGB star colours...something looks a bit off? Not sure if it is the stars or nebula Still, overall, it looks pretty cool as an image though with your usual interesting composition/framing and nice processing...and yeah, can see the skull, very cool...looks a bit like a monkey or gorilla brow too

Mike

Not much to add there Mike, NB colours being so subjective and all. Maybe all-white stars would be a cleaner choice in this case?

Originally Posted by petershah

I just love the fact you have brought out those beautiful blue/pinks quite often balanced out....a stunning rendition

Many thanks Peter, colours were inspired by Josep Druidis' image.

Originally Posted by JA

That's a lovely image Andy

Now that you point it out, AND in your narrowband colour palette, yes there's definitely a skull there with clearly defined eye sockets, brow ridges and even the nasal cavity and the fine vertical bone (Ethmoid/Vomer?) within the nose.

Best
JA

Cheers JA, hopefully you'll never unsee the skull now.

Originally Posted by Dave882

That’s lovely. Yep can see a skull- something inspired by the ‘day of the dead’ festival. Wow that colour!!

Thanks very much Dave - if you're going to revisit a classic target, you've gotta do something a bit special to garner folks attention.