NGC 2070 is the large open cluster at the center of the Tarantula Nebula and is responsible for the ionisation of the gas and dust that makes up this impressive nebula. it lies in the constellation of Dorado at the southeast corner of the Large Magellanic Cloud. This is a fascinating region of the southern sky and many other star clusters and objects are visible. It is an extremely luminous object, with an apparent magnitude of 8. However, it lies around 160,000 light-years from earth, so that if it were it to be as close as the Orion Nebula, M42, for example, it would cast shadows at night. The image was completed using data from a remote hosting facility in Chile.
Planwave CDK17
Software Bisque Paramount ME
SBIG STXL11002 (with AO)
R,G,B, H-alpha, S-II and O-III filters
ca. 18.5 hrs, Gain 0/2750, F6.8, 2939mm