NGC 2327 and the Seagull Nebula IC 2177

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The Seagull nebula is part of the Canis Majoris OB1 association and Canis Majoris R1 reflection nebula complex at a distance of 3750 light-years (1150 parsecs).
Most of the nebulosity visible on the bottom of this image is part of the Seagull's Wings (catalogued as IC 2177 or Sh2-296).
The Seagull's Head (catalogued as NGC 2327 or Sh2-292 or even Gum1), located just on the border between the constellations Monoceros (the Unicorn) and Canis Majoris, is both an HII region and reflection nebula (catalogued as vdB 93) and is ionized by the B0 subgiant HD 53367, a young 20 solar mass star with a 5 solar mass companion in a highly elliptical orbit.
Sh 2-297 at the southern tip of the wings (at right on this image) is also reflection nebula vdB 94 and is associated with the B1 star HD 53623.

Full-res file is about 51 Megapixels with a resolution of about 1 arcsec per pixel. It shows an area of sky large 2,0° x 2,0° (for comparison, the full-Moon has a diameter of about 0,5°).
The image is available for Museum, Planetariums, exhibitions, publishers and authors in very high-resolution. If interested in using the image, please read my policy or e-mail me with your request.

Copyright: Davide De Martin.

This color image is based on data coming from several photographic plates taken between 1983 and 1989 through the Anglo Australian Observatory's 48-inch (1.2-meter) UK Schmidt Telescope. The photographs were recorded on two type of glass photographic plates - one sensitive to red light and the other to blue and later they were digitized. Credit: Anglo-Australian Observatory, UK Schmidt Telescope, Digitized Sky Survey.