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Sh2 261 THE LOWER NEBULA on 2025-01-21,22,23,24,25,31_2025-02-1,2

Sh2 261, also known as the Lower Nebula, is an emission nebula visible in the constellation Orion. It lies in the bright wake of the Milky Way opposite the galactic center. One of the stars responsible for the ionization of gases in the region is believed to be the blue star HD 41997. The star is embedded within the nebula and in my picture can be seen slightly above, and a little to the left of the center of the nebula, at about 10 or 11 O'clock. HD 41997 is a runaway star of spectral class O7.5V. Sh2 261 is located approximately 3,200 light years from our solar system. This photo was taken in Kyle, Texas through a 4.5-inch f/4 Telescope, on a ZWO AM5 Mount, with a ZWO ASI533MC PRO color camera plus a dual-band H-Alpha & O-III Filter. The processing was done in PixInsight. The total image acquisition time is: 26 hrs 36 min 00 sec.

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