IC 2177 / NGC 2335 (Seagull Nebula) · Seestar S30 Pro · 2026-04-20

The Seagull Nebula is a large emission nebula complex straddling the border of Monoceros and Canis Major, roughly 3,650 light-years away and spanning about 100 light-years, or some 3 degrees on the sky (about seven times the apparent width of the full Moon). The complex takes its name from its wing-like overall shape: the nebula's “head,” a compact, bright region with its own embedded young cluster, is often cataloged separately, while the fainter “wings” carry the IC 2177 designation and the open cluster NGC 2335 sits near the nebula's northern end. Given its large apparent size and relatively low surface brightness, it is best suited to wide-field imaging with shorter focal lengths, where Hα framing helps bring out the full wingspan of glowing gas against the surrounding star field.

[Source: general astronomical references, incl. Wikipedia IC 2177 and amateur imaging guides]

Annotated Image

The annotated version is shown above - click it to zoom. Open the annotated image at full resolution.

Sky Location

The chart above shows where this image sits on the night sky. The yellow outline is its field of view, with the picture itself drawn at its true orientation; north is up and east is left. Click the chart to zoom in, and use "open full resolution" for the full-size chart.

Image Details

PixInsight Processing

1. Drizzle Integration (x2)
2. Image Integration
3. Background Neutralization (x2)
4. Automatic Background Extraction (x2)
5. Dynamic Background Extraction (x2)
6. Spectrophotometric Color Calibration (x2)
7. NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise) (x2)
8. Multiscale Adaptive Stretch (x2)
9. HDR Multiscale Transform (x2)
10. Curves Transformation (x4)

The Seagull Nebula is a large emission nebula complex straddling the border of Monoceros and Canis Major, roughly 3,650 light-years away and spanning about 100 light-years, or some 3 degrees on the sky (about seven times the apparent width of the full Moon). The complex takes its name from its wing-like overall shape: the nebula's “head,” a compact, bright region with its own embedded young cluster, is often cataloged separately, while the fainter “wings” carry the IC 2177 designation and the open cluster NGC 2335 sits near the nebula's northern end. Given its large apparent size and relatively low surface brightness, it is best suited to wide-field imaging with shorter focal lengths, where Hα framing helps bring out the full wingspan of glowing gas against the surrounding star field.

[Source: general astronomical references, incl. Wikipedia IC 2177 and amateur imaging guides]

Annotated Image

The annotated version is shown above - click it to zoom. Open the annotated image at full resolution.

Sky Location

The chart above shows where this image sits on the night sky. The yellow outline is its field of view, with the picture itself drawn at its true orientation; north is up and east is left. Click the chart to zoom in, and use "open full resolution" for the full-size chart.

Image Details

PixInsight Processing

1. Image Integration (x2)
2. Drizzle Integration (x2)
3. Background Neutralization
4. Automatic Background Extraction
5. Dynamic Background Extraction
6. Spectrophotometric Color Calibration
7. NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise)
8. Multiscale Adaptive Stretch
9. HDR Multiscale Transform
10. Curves Transformation (x3)

The Seagull Nebula is a large emission nebula complex straddling the border of Monoceros and Canis Major, roughly 3,650 light-years away and spanning about 100 light-years, or some 3 degrees on the sky (about seven times the apparent width of the full Moon). The complex takes its name from its wing-like overall shape: the nebula's “head,” a compact, bright region with its own embedded young cluster, is often cataloged separately, while the fainter “wings” carry the IC 2177 designation and the open cluster NGC 2335 sits near the nebula's northern end. Given its large apparent size and relatively low surface brightness, it is best suited to wide-field imaging with shorter focal lengths, where Hα framing helps bring out the full wingspan of glowing gas against the surrounding star field.

[Source: general astronomical references, incl. Wikipedia IC 2177 and amateur imaging guides]

Annotated Image

The annotated version is shown above - click it to zoom. Open the annotated image at full resolution.

Sky Location

The chart above shows where this image sits on the night sky. The yellow outline is its field of view, with the picture itself drawn at its true orientation; north is up and east is left. Click the chart to zoom in, and use "open full resolution" for the full-size chart.

Image Details

PixInsight Processing

1. Image Integration (x2)
2. Drizzle Integration (x2)
3. Background Neutralization
4. Automatic Background Extraction
5. Dynamic Background Extraction
6. Spectrophotometric Color Calibration
7. NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise)
8. Multiscale Adaptive Stretch
9. HDR Multiscale Transform
10. Curves Transformation (x3)

The Seagull Nebula is a large emission nebula complex straddling the border of Monoceros and Canis Major, roughly 3,650 light-years away and spanning about 100 light-years, or some 3 degrees on the sky (about seven times the apparent width of the full Moon). The complex takes its name from its wing-like overall shape: the nebula's “head,” a compact, bright region with its own embedded young cluster, is often cataloged separately, while the fainter “wings” carry the IC 2177 designation and the open cluster NGC 2335 sits near the nebula's northern end. Given its large apparent size and relatively low surface brightness, it is best suited to wide-field imaging with shorter focal lengths, where Hα framing helps bring out the full wingspan of glowing gas against the surrounding star field.

[Source: general astronomical references, incl. Wikipedia IC 2177 and amateur imaging guides]

Annotated Image

The annotated version is shown above - click it to zoom. Open the annotated image at full resolution.

Sky Location

The chart above shows where this image sits on the night sky. The yellow outline is its field of view, with the picture itself drawn at its true orientation; north is up and east is left. Click the chart to zoom in, and use "open full resolution" for the full-size chart.

Image Details

PixInsight Processing

1. Image Integration (x2)
2. Drizzle Integration (x2)
3. Background Neutralization
4. Automatic Background Extraction
5. Dynamic Background Extraction
6. Spectrophotometric Color Calibration
7. NoiseXTerminator (AI denoise)
8. Multiscale Adaptive Stretch
9. HDR Multiscale Transform
10. Curves Transformation (x3)