IC 447

 REFLECTION NEBULA IN MONOCEROS (THE UNICORN) 

(Image centered at: ra 06h:32 m / dec + 09 º 52')

November 2022, Observatorio La Banderita, La Pampa, Argentina

DATA

TYPE: Reflextion Nebula

APPARENT DIAMETER: 25x 20 arc minutes

APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V): surface brightness 14,2 per arc minute

DISTANCE: 2500 light years

IMAGE INFORMATION

INSTRUMENT: 8" ORION OPTICS UK (Ultra Grade Optics) w/Televue Paracorr working at at f5,75

CAMERA: QSI 583 WS

MOUNT: SKY WATCHER NEQ6, OAG with Starlight Xpress Lodestar

FILTERS: Baader LRGB Set

SKY CONDITIONS: Bortle 2 skies

EXPOSURES: LRGB (40,40,40,40)

OBJECT DESCRIPTION AND IMAGE SESSION

IC 447 is a beautiful complex of reflection and dark nebula two and a half degrees west from the well known Cone Nebula. Contrary to the Emission Nebulas, reflection nebulas do not emit radiation of its own. They are dust and gas that reflects the light energy from a nearby stars or group of stars. In this case IC 447 reflects the light of massive blue stars which are more hotter than our Sun. On the top right corner it can be seen NGC 2245 which reflects the light coming from SAO 95816 shining at magnitude 7,7.

In 1894 American astronomer Edward E Barnard discovered this nebula and informed to Danish astronomer Johan Ludvig Dreyer the creator of the NGC catalogue and its IC indexes. One year later in 1895 Barnard thought he discovered something different and reported the same object to Dreyer. As a result this object was duplicated in the IC catalogue (IC 447and IC 2169)