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N44 is an emission nebula located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 170,000 light years away. It is a very large HII region, spanning more than 1,000 light years across (compare this with M 42, about 25 light years across). In fact, should this nebula be at M42’s distance, it would span more than 40 degrees in the sky… This nebula (one of my favorites) shows a “super-bubble” structure, visible just off to the left of center. This structure is fueled by the stars that are inside it, also known as the cluster NGC 1929.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): N44
Type: Emission Nebula
RA: 05h 22m 23.8s
Dec: -67º 57’ 08.2”
Constellation: Doradus
Size (arcmin): 18×20
Magnitude:
Distance: 170,000 ly
Image
Date: 2015-12-14 to 2016-01-08
Location: iTelescope.net, SSO near Coonabarabran, NSW Australia
Size (arcmin): 36×36
Telescope: Planewave CDK 20” f/6.8
Camera: SBIG STX16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 17 hs (Halpha: 9 hs; OIII: 6.5 hs; RGB: 1.5 hs)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2016 and PixInsight