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Object name
NGC2020 NGC2014 NGC1945 MGC1946 NGC2030 NGC1955 NGC2040NGC1968

Constellation:Dorado
Distance: 160 000 light years
Imaged by Jean-Yves Beninger from Warrunbungle National Park, Australia
On 6 and 7 February 2025

Equipment:
Astro-Physics Mach1
Astro-Physics AP130 GTX Grand Turismo with Quad TCC 588mm
Camera Zwo ASI 2600MM pixel size 3.76µ
Filters R, G, B, S, H, O
H-RGB image

NGC 2020 – The blue circle in the middle left of the image. A striking blue nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), part of the Tarantula Nebula complex. It is an emission nebula created by a Wolf-Rayet star, which has expelled its outer layers, forming a nearly circular bubble-like structure.

NGC 2014 – The red nebula below NGC 2020. Another nebula in the LMC, forming part of a complex with NGC 2020. It is a bright red emission nebula, where young, massive stars are ionizing the surrounding hydrogen gas, giving it its reddish hue.

NGC 1955 – The round nebula in the middle left. Also known as LH 31, this is a bright HII region in the LMC, associated with active star formation. It is part of the larger N44 superbubble complex.

NGC 1968 – Just above NGC 1955. A bright star-forming region and HII region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). It is part of the larger N44 nebular complex, which is a superbubble structure formed by stellar winds and supernova explosions. NGC 1968 contains young, massive stars that ionize the surrounding hydrogen gas, causing it to glow.

NGC 2030 – A star-forming region in the LMC, part of the N44 complex. It consists of an HII region where massive stars are actively forming and shaping the surrounding gas clouds.

NGC 1945 – A bright emission and reflection nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). It is a part of an active star-forming region, where radiation from young, massive stars ionizes the surrounding gas, making it glow. It also contains dust that reflects light, giving it a mixed emission and reflection appearance. This nebula is influenced by the stellar winds and supernova activity in the LMC.

NGC 1946 – A globular or open star cluster in the LMC. Unlike NGC 1945, which is a nebula, NGC 1946 is a dense collection of stars. It is considered an older cluster in the LMC, containing many evolved stars. These clusters are important for studying stellar evolution and the history of star formation in the LMC.

While NGC 1945 is a nebula associated with active star formation, NGC 1946 is a star cluster, likely much older and no longer forming new stars.