Today we would like to show you a new nebula. The object was discovered in 2019 by Xavier Strottner and Marcel Drechsler.

The Strawberry Nebula (StDr Object 17)

Strottner-Drechsler Object 17 (StDr Object 17)

The "Strawberry Nebula"
A new candidate for a Strömgren sphere*
in the constellation Auriga (Auriga).

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Discovery: Marcel Drechsler, Xavier Strottner 2019
Coordinates: 05 23 9.101 +55 02 36.40 (J2000)

Data:
78 x 10 min RGB
14 x 10 min Luminance
121 x 10 min H-alpha
22 x 10 min OIII

As always, excellently photographed by Markus Blauensteiner (Ursa Major Observatory)
Image processing: Marcel Drechsler (Baerenstein Observatory)
Total exposure: 39.16 hours

The Strömgren sphere, named after Bengt In theoretical astrophysics, the Strömgren sphere is the H II region around a star where the star's ultraviolet radiation can ionize a hydrogen nebula. Ideally, with homogeneous gas density, this nebula is spherical. At the edge of the Strömgren sphere, all ionizing radiation is exhausted, and the ionized region ends. Precise calculations show that the transition from predominantly ionized to neutral gas occurs over a short distance compared to the size of the nebula; thus, the Strömgren sphere is sharply defined.