{"id":277,"date":"2026-03-24T21:51:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cosmosimager.com\/staging\/3153\/?page_id=277"},"modified":"2026-03-24T21:51:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:51:47","slug":"sh2-261-lowers-nebula","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cosmosimager.com\/staging\/3153\/sh2-261-lowers-nebula\/","title":{"rendered":"SH2-261 – Lower’s Nebula"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sh2-261, also known as Lower\u2019s Nebula<\/em>, is a faint and expansive emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth. This large H II region is energized by embedded massive stars whose ultraviolet radiation ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic deep red H-alpha glow. Unlike more compact nebulae, Sh2-261 spans a wide area of the sky with subtle variations in brightness, making its full structure difficult to capture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interaction between stellar radiation and the surrounding interstellar medium creates a complex network of diffuse emission, dark dust lanes, and softly defined boundaries. Wispy filaments and broad, cloud-like regions blend together, giving the nebula a layered and almost translucent appearance. Its low surface brightness and lack of sharply defined features present a significant imaging challenge, requiring long integration times and careful processing to reveal its faint, extended structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This image was created using a combination of narrowband H-alpha, SII, and OIII data along with broadband RGB stars acquired from Arnold, CA. The data were collected between December 8, 2025 and February 10, 2026, with a total integration time of 38.6 hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sh2-261, also known as Lower\u2019s Nebula, is a faint and expansive emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth. This large H II region is energized by embedded massive stars whose ultraviolet radiation ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic deep red H-alpha glow. Unlike more compact nebulae, Sh2-261 spans […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-277","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nSH2-261 - Lower's Nebula - William D Brown Astrophotography<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cosmosimager.com\/staging\/3153\/sh2-261-lowers-nebula\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SH2-261 - Lower's Nebula - William D Brown Astrophotography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sh2-261, also known as Lower\u2019s Nebula, is a faint and expansive emission nebula located in the constellation Orion, approximately 3,000 light-years from Earth. 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