The Raspberry Nebula, designated as SH2-263, is a fascinating celestial object located in the constellation Orion, near the bright star Bellatrix, which marks Orion's shoulder. This nebula is notable for being a complex of both emission and reflection nebulosity, which gives it a distinctive appearance:
- Emission Nebula: SH2-263 is primarily an emission nebula, appearing red due to the hydrogen gas being ionized by the ultraviolet light from nearby stars, particularly the hot, luminous star HD 34989. This star, with a magnitude of about 5.78, is responsible for illuminating much of the nebula's gas, causing it to glow.
- Reflection Nebula: Adjacent to SH2-263, the reflection nebula VdB 38 adds a blue hue to the scene. This occurs because the dust in VdB 38 scatters the light from HD 34989, reflecting it towards us and giving off a blue color due to the nature of light scattering.
- Location and Observation: Positioned in the northern part of Orion, the Raspberry Nebula can be observed in winter from the northern hemisphere when Orion is high in the sky. It lies about 2.2 degrees north-northwest of Bellatrix. The nebula's apparent size is around 15 arcminutes, which corresponds to roughly 10 light-years in physical extent.
- Additional Features: The nebula complex includes dark nebulae like LDN 1588, which appear as dark patches due to their dust blocking light from stars behind them. The region also shows faint nebulosity and is part of a larger area filled with various nebulae, including the Lambda Orionis Ring (Sh2-264).
- Photography: Due to its faintness and the complexity of its structure, capturing the Raspberry Nebula in detail requires long exposure times, often with narrowband filters like Hydrogen-alpha to enhance the emission parts. It's less frequently imaged compared to more famous Orion nebulae like M42 but offers a unique challenge for astrophotographers with its mix of emission and reflection nebulosity.
The Raspberry Nebula, with its intricate interplay of colors and structures, provides a beautiful subject for anyone interested in the deeper exploration of the night sky's more subtle wonders.
Additional information from human
In the wide-angle panoramic images of the Orion constellation, it is clear that it is all immersed in a giant foggy complex, in which the famous Orion Nebula occupies a central, but not very large place. And there is also Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula and many other gas and dust formations. It may seem that the Raspberry Nebula is also part of the Orion Nebula complex. This is true, but only partially. The fact is that the Raspberry Nebula is one and a half times further from us than the famous M-42. The distance from the Great Orion Nebula and the stars born in it (of which the Orion constellation is composed) is from 1000 to 1300 light years. But the Raspberry Nebula is 1,700 light years away from us and is illuminated by only one star, HD 34989, which is barely visible to the eye on a moonless night in the mountains (its magnitude is 5.8). Our Raspberry Nebula shines in the light of this single star. Without it, we would not have seen this nebula. And only thanks to this star were we able to determine the distance to the nebula. I will also add that this is a fairly young star — several million years old. It is very hot and the temperature of the photosphere (the visible surface of the star) is 25,000 degrees. The mass of the star is also quite impressive — 12 times greater than the solar mass. Apparently, this is a reliable candidate for a supernova outbreak in the distant future. And when this happens, the nebula illuminated by the star HD 34989 will be additionally enriched with heavy chemical elements. Now it mainly consists of hydrogen, and therefore has a predominantly reddish tint. And the part of it that has a blue tint is represented by carbon, oxygen, lithium. Over time, the color range of Raspberry Nebula will become more diverse.
It is interesting that the radial velocity of the star HD 34989 correlates well with the radial velocities of most bright stars in the constellation Orion. We can make a cautious conclusion that this star is a relative of those luminaries that were born in the Orion Nebula, it just managed to fly away further. And now it illuminates completely different foggy interstellar spaces.
