Ngc 2467

NGC 2467 "Skull and Crossbones Nebula"

This image of the very colorful star forming region, NGC 2467 in Puppis, aka the "Skull and Crossbones Nebula", was acquired from Chile by SSRO.  Numerous stars and clusters come together to make this stunning stellar portrait.

One of the most notable clusters within NGC 2467, known as Haffner 18, houses around 50 stars — most are high mass, but have already begun the transit into the celestial afterlife. They certainly help shape the pillars of gas and dust, but their role is negligible compared to that of HD 6315 located in the center of NGC 2467. This gargantuan star does most of the work. Its outbursts, ranging from flares, to coronal mass ejections and such, eject vast quantities of radiation into the nebular material, which has a carving effect. The dark splotches all around and in the nebula are Bok Globules. Within these regions, dust is packed together so tightly, light from embedded stars can’t break through.

Here's a cropped version with more narrowband data incorporated, including Hubble palette data (SII-Ha-OIII) added at the center from SSRO member Steve Mazlin.