The Rosette Nebula spans a distance of about 100 lightyears across and is located 5,000 lightyears from Earth in the Monoceros constellation.
Catalogued as NCG 2237, the Rosette Nebula more than lives up to its informal nickname, as its circular shape and deep, dark centre gives it a floral appearance.
At the centre of the nebula is NGC 2244, a group of stars that form a gravitationally bound open star cluster thought to be about 4 million years old.
These stars are emitting streams of charged particles known as stellar winds, carving out the gas and dust at the centre of the nebula and earning the cosmic cloud its Rosette nickname.
The Rosette Nebula, as seen by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope.
The surrounding gas that forms a ring around the dark centre is glowing because it is being blasted by radiation from nearby stars, making the Rosette Nebula an emission nebula.
Below is a selection of images of the Rosette Nebula captured by BBC Sky at Night Magazine readers and astrophotographers from around the world.
For more info on photographing nebulae, read our guide to deep-sky astrophotography or find out how to fine-tune your images with our guide to deep-sky image processing.
And remember to send us your images: we’d love to see them! You can also share them with us via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Rosette Nebula by Steve Bishop, Wakefield, 27 February 2019
Equipment: Altair Hypercam 183M Pro mono camera, Primalucelab Airy black 80T apo refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro SynScan mount.
The Rosette Nebula, Jean M Dean, Guernsey, 25 February 2019. Equipment: Starlight Xpress Trius SX-814 CCD camera, Takahashi FS60CB refractor, iOptron CEM25EC GoTo mount.
The Rosette Nebula by Adam Leach, Kent, 25 February – 3 March 2019. Equipment: Atik 314L CCD camera, Altair Starwave 102ED refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan mount.
Richard Pearce, South Lincolnshire, 28 January 2019. Equipment used: Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED Pro refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ5 Pro SynScan mount.
The Rosette Nebula by Adam Leach, Kent, 25 February – 3 March 2019. Equipment: Atik 314L CCD camera, Altair Starwave 102ED refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount.
Steve’s finished Rosette Nebula image, a bi-colour shot produced from dark-frame calibrated hydrogen-alpha and oxygen III data. Credit: Steve Richards
The Rosette Nebula by Kevin Hearn, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, 21, 23, 24 February 2019. Equipment: Atik 460ex mono camera, Sky-Watcher Evostar ED80 Pro refractor, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount.
The Rosette Nebula by Steve MacDonald, Cyprus, 21–25 November 2019. Equipment: Moravian G2-8300 mono camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 100 apo refractor, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount
The inner region of the Rosette Nebula rendered using the Hubble palette with SII for the red channel, H-alpha for green and OIII for blue. Credit: Pete Lawrence
The Rosette Nebula Martin Bracken, Chelmsford, Essex, 22 November 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294MC Pro colour camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED apo triplet refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
The Rosette Nebula by Martin Bracken, Chelmsford, 27 December 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 294MC Pro colour camera, Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED apo triplet refractor, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount
Rosette Nebula Hubble Palette by Matt Beavers, Lucksall, SGL6 Starparty, UK. Equipment: HEQ5, William Optics Megrez 72mm, Atik 16HR, Astronomik Narrow Band Filters, EQMOD.
The Rosette Nebula by Andy Jensen, Suffolk, UK. Equipment: 80mm Skywatcher Apo, Atik 314l NEQ6 mount.
Rosetta Nebula by Andre van der Hoeven, HI-Ambacht, The Netherlands. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ106, SXV-H9
The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49) by Wayne Stallard, Basildon, Essex, UK. Equipment: William Optics FLT132, Astro-Physics Mach1 GTO mount, Astro-Physics Telecompressor (0.75x) (27TVPH), Starlight Xpress SXVR-M25C CCD, Starlight Xpress Lodestar.
Rosette Nebula in Ha by Dave Trewren, Bristol, UK. Equipment: HEQ5, Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 ED, HY9M, Baader Ha narrowband, StarShoot, modified finder scope
NGC2244 by Mark Casto, Halesworth, Suffolk, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 200p EQ5 mount and Canon 350D unguided.
Rosette Nebula by Phil Benson, Rayleigh, Essex, UK. Equipment: 102mm F7 Apo refractor, Televue TRF2008 flattener/reducer, QSI 583wsg CCD camera, Astrodon filters, Starlight Xpress Lodestar guide camera, EQ6 Pro mount
Rosette Nebula by Trevor Worrall, Rotherham S.Yorkshire, UK. Equipment: Revelation ED 80mm refractor, SBIG ST-8300, Starlight Express fiter wheel, Baader Ha Filter selected
Rosette Nebula – Hubble Palette by Francesco Di Cencio, Belluno, Italy, Dolomites. Equipment: Achromatic refractor TS Individual 152/900, CCD QHY9 bin2, Mount Celestron CGE+TDM
Caldwell 49 Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Equinox 80mm refractor, NEQ6 pro mount, Canon Eos 1100d self-modified and Astronomik CLS CCD clip filter.
The Rosette Nebula by Paul Hughes, St Austell, Cornwall, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FS-102 Refractor f/6, Takahashi EM-200 mount, SBIG ST-8300 CCD camera. Autoguided using a QHY5/PHD
NGC2244 Corner of the Rosette by Jeffrey Jongmans, Etten-Leur, The Netherlands. Equipment: GSO 10″ Carbon RC, ASA DDM60, QSI 683wsg-8, Astrodon 3nm Ha, OIII and SII filters.
Caldwell 49 – The Rosette Nebula by Matt Foyle, Derbyshire, UK. Equipment: 80mm F6 Refractor, QHY9M CCD, HEQ6 Pro Mount, Orion 50mm mini guider, QHY5M, ST4 Cable, Baader 2″ CCD full frame 7nm HA filter, 2″ QHY motorised filter wheel, TSFlat2.
Rosette 3.5 hours by Dave Parker, Ripley, Surrey, UK. Equipment: Williams Optics MEgrez 72, Modded Canon 1000D, NEQ6. Guided with ST80 and QHY5.
C50 Cluster & Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: GSO 8″ Richey-Chretien Optical tube, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L+ camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters.
Leaping Puma in the Rosette Nebula by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ85EDX, CGEM DX, Atik 460ex, IMG0H, Atik OAG, PHD
NGC 2237 the Rosette Nebula by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ85EDX, Celestron CGEM DX, Atik 460ex, IMG0H, Atik OAG, PHD
Rosette Nebula Bi-Colour by Roger Brooker, Kent, UK. Equipment: Ts65q, SXVH9, Baader filters, Eq6 pro mount, Ts9mm OAG
Rosette Nebula NGC 2244 by Lee Housden, Essex, UK. Equipment: Celestron CPC 8, EQ Wedge, Skywatcher ED80 Apo, QHY5, PHD, QHY10 CCD, Light Pollution Filter, Focal Reducer.
NGC 2237 Rosette Nebula bicolour narrowband by Ian Russell, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, UK. Equipment: Takahashi FSQ85EDX, CGEM DX, Atik 460ex, IMG0H, Atik OAG, PHD
C49 Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Telescope service 8″ Boren simon power newtonian, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount,Atik 383L+ camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters.
Caldwell 49 / Rosette Nebula in Hubble Palette Narrowband by Simon Todd, Cork, Ireland. Equipment: Celestron C80ED APO Refractor, ATIK 383L+ Mono, QHY5, QHY5L-II, TS 9mm OAG, Skywatcher NEQ6Pro (Steel Pier Mounted)
The Beautiful Satellite Cluster in the Heart of the Rosetta Nebula by Simon Rowland, Ponteland, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 200P, heq5 Pro, QHY8L OSC CCD, LP filter, coma corrector, SPC900 guide cam.
Rosette Nebula by Alastair Woodward, Derby, UK. Equipment: Sky-watcher 150 6″ Newtonian, EQ3-2 mount + RADEC motors, Modded Canon 1000d, CLS Clip Filter.
Rosetta Nebula by John Bunyan, New Mexico, USA. Equipment: SBIG11000M, Takahashi FSQ106ED, Paramount MX+ mount
NGC2244 Rosette Nebula by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is, 0.8x focal reducer, Atik490EX, Losmandy G11, TV Pronto, Lodestar
NGC2244 Rosette Nebula in HST palette by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: TV NP127is, 0.8x focal reducer, Atik490EX, Losmandy G11, TV Pronto, Lodestar.
C50 Bok Globules Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C11 Sct, Skywatcher NEQ6 pro mount, Atik 383L+ camera, motorised filter wheel and Astronomik filters, F6.3 focal reducer.
NGC 2238 – Rosette Nebula by Jonathan Blake, Andover, UK. Equipment: William Optics GT81 refractor, HEQ5 mount, Starlight Xpress Trius-694.
Rosette Nebula a Cosmic Cloud by Paul C. Swift, Spain. Equipment: Takahashi TSA 102, Starlight Express SXVR-H18, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro, SX Loadstar, Takahashi TOA/FS Reducer, Baader Red 2″, SII 8.5nm, B 2″, G 2″, O III 8.5nm, Ha 8.5nm
The Rosette Nebula by Gavin James, Marlborough, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 80ED with reducer and QSI 683-WSG with Baader filters.
Rosette Nebula – Caldwell 49 by Steve Wilson, Middlesbrough, UK. Equipment: ED80 scope, 0.8x reducer, modded Canon 450D, HEQ5 Pro mount.
NGC2244 Rosette Nebula bi-colour by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is, Moravian G4-16000, 10-Micron GM2000HPS.
Rosette Nebula by Paul C. Swift, Valencia Spain. Equipment: Vixen VSD, Starlight Express SXVR-H18, Software Bisque Paramount MX, Baader Ha, Hb, OIII & SII, Starlight Xpress Lodestar.
Rosette Nebula by Rob Little, Northumberland, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher NEQ6 Mount, Borg 77EDII F4.6 Astrograph, Skywatcher Startravel 80, Altair Guidescope, Lodestar Autoguider, Atik 383L+ CCD, Starlight Express 7 position Filter wheel, Baader 36mm LRGB, Narrow Band Filter.
Rosette Nebula (NGC2237) in mono Ha by Alastair Woodward, Derby, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 130PDS, HEQ5, Canon 350d, 6nm Ha Clip Filter, PHD2, ST80, QHY5L-II.
NGC2237 – Rosette Nebula in Monoceros by Bill McSorley, Leeds, UK. Equipment: SW 150P Newtonian, HEQ5 Pro Synscan Mount, QHY8L cooled ccd.
Rosette Nebula Core by Álvaro Ibáñez Pérez, Pioz, Guadalajara, Spain. Equipment: Refractor TS115 Triplet APO, TS Optics 0,79x, NEQ6 Pro II Tuning Belts, EQMOD, CCD Atik 460EX mono, Baader Ha R G B, Lunático EZG-60, SXLodestar, RoboFocus, FocusMax, MaximDL.
Rosette Nebula – DSLR HaOIII Bi Colour by Alastair Woodward, Derby, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 130PDS, HEQ5, Canon 350d, 6nm Ha Clip Filter, 12nm OIII Clip Filter, PHD2, ST80, QHY5L-II.
Rosette Nebula in Hubble Palette by Trevor Nicholls, UK. Equipment: Tak FSQ106, x.73 reducer, QSI 6120, 5nm Astrodon Ha, OIII, SII filters, Paramount MX, Lodestar X2 guide camera
Part of Rosetta Nebula by Mick Ainge, East Yorkshire, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 120mm F5 Achro Refractor, Atik 414ex.
Caldwell 49 by Colin Thomas, Olney, Buckinghamshire, UK. Equipment: Williams Optics 71, SBIG STI, PHD guiding, ATIK 490EX, pier mounted Celestron EQ5
The core of the Rosette Nebula by David Trotter, Sydney, Australia. Equipment: SBIG STL 6303e CCD, GSO RC8 telescope, AP900 mount
The Heart of the Rosette Nebula by Lee Renshaw, Walkden, Manchester, UK. Equipment: Ascension 80ED Triplet, Atik 314L+ CCD, Baader Ha 7nm filter, Baader OIII 8.5nm filter, Baader SII 8nm filter, Atik EFW2 Filter Wheel, Artemis Capture.
Rosette Nebula and B168 Dark Nebula by James Robertson, Kendal, Cumbria, UK. Equipment: Esprit 80ed f5/400, AVX, Canon 750d modified
Rosette Nebula by Ron Brecher, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Equipment: Moravian G3-16200 EC camera (on loan from O’Telescope), Optolong R, G and B filters, 106mm Tak FSQ-106 at f/3.6, Paramount MX, QHY5 guide camera 50mm f.l. guide scope. Acquisition with the SkyX, Manually focused.
C50 Open Cluster, Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12″ Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L+ camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
The Rosette Nebula by Rad Djeliov, Northamptonshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron C80ED/F7.5, Altair Lightwave 0.8x, Advanced VX, w/PHD2, Celestron 9×50/QHY5, Canon 1100Da.
Rosette Nebula by Amit Sharma, London, UK. Equipment: TS 60ED, 0.79x reducer, Celestron AVX, generic 60mm guidescope, SXV-H9 mono, QHY 5L II, Astronomik 12nm Ha, S2, O3.
NGC 2237 – Rosette Nebula by Davy Cannon, Hamilton, Scotland. Equipment: Canon EOS 60Da DSLR, Altair Astro 70EDT-R APO, Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro, Planostar v2 0.8x FR, Astronomik UHC clip-filter.
NGC 2237 The Rosette Nebula by Martin Baker, Sandhurst, Berkshire, UK. Equipment: Megrez 72mm, Starlight Express Trius SX694 mono CCD, Baader NB filters, NEQ6, Lodestar, ZS71.
The center of the Rose by Rafael Compassi, Presidente Lucena, Brazil. Equipment: Skywatcher 8″ F/5, Canon T1i, Astronomik CLS CCD Clip filter
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Takahashy FSQ106ED, NQ6 PRO, Canon 550D DSLR Xap cooled, EZ60, QHY5, H-Alpha filter, Baader 7nn.
Rosette Leaping Puma by David Trelfer, Kent, UK. Equipment: Meade LX6 8″, Atik One-6, Baader filters.
C49 Rosette Nebula by Martin Pyott, St Andrews, UK. Equipment: Altair Astro 66mm ED Refractor, IOptron Smart EQ mount (unguided), Modified Baader and cooled Canon 600D
NGC2239 Rosette Nebula by Mariusz Szymaszek, Crawley, Sussex, UK. Equipment: ED-APO refractor D90 F500mm f/5.5 with experimentally connected SW field flattener, NEQ6-Pro, QHY168C, Baader 7nm H-alpha, ZWO ASI120MM, 60mm Guide.
Rosette nebula in full colour by Gerard Tartalo Montardit, Lleida, Spain. Equipment: Canon eos 600D modded & cooled, Skywatcher 150/750 PDS, ZWO Asi 290mc, Newton 130/650, Skywatcher NEQ6 Pro2.
C50 Rosette Nebula by Mark Griffith, Swindon, UK. Equipment: Teleskop service 12″ Richey-Chretien telescope, Skywatcher EQ8 mount,Atik 383L+ camera, Astronomik Sii, Ha, Oiii filters, Astro physics 0.67 reducer.
Rosette Nebula. HaRGB image with DSLR by Tim Schafer, Hertfordshire, UK. Equipment: Altair Astro 72 ED-R, WO Star 71, Canon 100D, Skywatcher HEQ5, UHC filter, 12 nm Ha filter.
Rosette Nebula by Chris Platkiw, Nottingham, UK. Equipment: Altair Astro 72 ED-R refractor, 0.8 flattenerreducer, Canon 450d (modified), HEQ5.
Rosette Nebula by Vincent Morris, Beckenham, UK. Equipment: Celestron 9.25 SCT, Skywatcher EQ6 mount, Starlight Xpress H16 CCD, narrowband filters.
Rosette Nebula NGC 2237 by John Dolan, Dublin. Equipment: SkyWatcher Esprit 100mm, SXVR-H16 CCD, Filters (IDAS Ha, O3, S2)
Rosette Nebula in Narrowband by Tony King, Woking, UK. Equipment: TS80 Triplet, QSI683 WSG8 mono, Baader filters, self belt modded NEQ6 Pro, Polemaster
Rosette by Phillip Froggett, Hertfordshire, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher 200p, NEQ6 Mount, QHY8L, Optolong 7nm Ha filter
Rosetta Nebula by Rafael Compassi, Presidente Lucena, Brazil. Equipment: 80mm Triplet APO, QHY9m, Ha, OIII.
Rosetta Nebula by Fernando Oliveira De Menezes, Chapada Guimaraes, MT, Brazil. Equipment: APO 80mm TS 6 elements, ASI 1600mm cooled, 10x 150 “GB and 10 300” H-Alpha and L.
NGC 2239 Rosetta Nebula by Georges Chassaigne, Fregenal De La Sierra, Spain. Equipment: RC360 Astrosib, AP1600AE, SBIG STX 16803, SkyX, MaximDL, Focusmax4, Pixinsight
NGC 2239 Rosetta Nebula in SHO Colour by Georges Chassaigne, Fregenal De La Sierra, Spain. Equipment: RC360 Astrosib, AP1600AE, SBIG STX16803, The SkyX, Maxim Dl, Focusmax4, Pixinsight
Rosette Nebula bicolor by Mariusz Szymaszek, Crawley, Sussex, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro with flattener, NEQ6-Pro, QHY168C, Baader 7nm H-alpha, Baader O-III CCD, ZWO ASI120MC, Finderscope.
NGC2237 The Rosette Nebula by Trevor Searle, Caterham, Surrey, UK. Equipment: Skywatcher Esprit 80ED, AZ-EQ6GT mount, ZWO ASI1600MM cooled, 31mm ZWO filters, ZWO EFW8 wheel.
NGC 2239 SHO Rosetta Nebula by Georges Chassaigne, Fregenal De La Sierra, Spain. Equipment: RC14″ Astrosib, AP1600AE, SBIG STX 16003, The Skyx, Maximdl, Pixinsight
NGC 2239 HOO Rosetta Nebula by Georges Chassaigne, Fregenal De La Sierra, Spain. Equipment: RC14″ Astrosib, AP1600AE, SBIG STX 16003, The Skyx, Maximdl, Pixinsight
Rosette Nebula – NGC2244 (SHO – Narrowband Imaging Under City) by William Tan, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Equipment: Skyrover 110ED doublet len, iOptron ZEQ25, ASI1600MM Cool, 30/120 F4 Guidescope, QHY5L-ii-C Guidecam
