Amateur astrophotographer captures stunning image of Rosette Nebula in Shanghai

he IC434 Horsehead Nebula of Orion that took by Xu Weibin in November 2017 in Fengxian district's Nanqiao town, Shanghai. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

An astronomy photo of the Rosette Nebula, a cloud of interstellar dust and gas located about 5,000 light years away in the constellation of Monoceros, has been published in the latest issue of Amateur Astronomer.

The photo was taken by Chinese photographer Xu Weibin in Shanghai's Fengxian district, where he believes provides the best observation point and has the least light pollution in the city. Most of the works were shot in Fengxian.

Xu, who picked up astrophotography in 2006, has taken more than 300 astronomical photos in the past 13 years. Many of them, including images of the M27 Dumbbell Nebula of Vulpecula, the M51 Triangulum Galaxy and the M51 Canes Venatici of Spiral Galaxy, have been published in Amateur Astronomer and the Chinese National Astronomy.