Monoceros R2 is a giant molecular cloud in Monoceros lit by a group of reflection nebulae, with a massive young cluster still buried at its dusty core.
At a glance
| type | nebula |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 2,980 light-years (915 pc) |
| its light left it | 2,980 years ago |
| size in the piece | about 29 light-years acrossmodel |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with. Model marks a property of the piece’s galaxy model rather than a measurement.
About Monoceros R2
The name means the second R-association in Monoceros: a group of reflection nebulae, patches of dust shining by the scattered light of young stars embedded in them. Behind those visible patches lies a much larger giant molecular cloud of gas and dust, most of it dark at visible wavelengths.
At its centre, hidden behind heavy dust, sits a dense cluster of young, massive stars. Infrared and radio telescopes see it directly: an ultracompact region of ionised hydrogen around its hottest star, and one of the largest molecular outflows known, gas streaming away from the core in opposite directions. Maps of the cloud show filaments converging on the cluster like spokes on a hub, the pattern now thought to feed the growth of massive stars.
What you see in the piece
The piece draws the cloud as dark dust, so from outside it reads as a shadow that dims and reddens the stars behind it. The infrared band reveals what the dust hides.
Questions
What does the R in Monoceros R2 mean?
R stands for an R-association, a group of reflection nebulae lit by young stars; Monoceros R2 is the second one catalogued in Monoceros.
How far away is Monoceros R2?
Monoceros R2 is 2,980 light-years (915 pc) from the Sun.