Q696249

Also known as Monkey Head Nebula

H II emission nebula in the constellation Orion

Key facts

Right ascension: 06 09.7
Declination: +20 ° 30 ′
Distance: 6,400 ly (2,000 pc )
Apparent dimensions v: 40 ′
Constellation: Orion

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Wikidata facts

Image: Heic1406d-crop.png

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Commons category: NGC 2174
catalog code: NGC 2174
time of discovery or invention: 1877-02-06
right ascension: 92.425
declination: 20.500

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Article

NGC 2174 (also known as Monkey Head Nebula) is an H II emission nebula located in the constellation Orion and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2175. It was discovered on 6 February 1877 by French astronomer Édouard Stephan. It is thought to be located about 6,400 light-years away from Earth. The nebula may have formed through hierarchical collapse.

There is some equivocation in the use of the identifiers NGC 2174 and NGC 2175. These may apply to the entire nebula, to its brightest knot, or to the star cluster it includes. Burnham's Celestial Handbook lists the entire nebula as 2174/2175 and does not mention the star cluster. The NGC Project (working from the original descriptive notes) assigns NGC 2174 to the prominent knot at J2000 06 09 23.7, +20° 39′ 34″ and NGC 2175 to the entire nebula, and by extension to the star cluster. SIMBAD uses NGC 2174 for the nebula and NGC 2175 for the star cluster.