N214 is a remarkable site where massive stars are forming

N214 is a large, elongated ~15′ x 4′ region, oriented NNW-SSE and composed of 8 nebular components (N214A-H), most of them extremely faint, except for the massive and superbly bright star-forming region N214C = NGC 2103, which lies at the south-southeast end. Not only is its nebulosity complex, but it also hosts a high excitation blob (HEB) and an extremely rare star in a compact cluster.

16″ at 228x: Without a filter, N214C appears as a large, fairly bright, just off-round glow, unevenly lit and with edges that simply fade into the dark sky surrounding it. Eight of LH 110’s stars are resolved, beautifully mingled with the nebulosity. Near the centre lies mag 12.7 Sk -71°51 – another “star” that was resolved by Hubble Space Telescope in 2005 into a tight cluster of stars with at least 6 bright, massive stars packed into an area covering ~3″! The cluster’s namesake, Sk -71°51, is a very rare massive star, belonging to a peculiar class with only a dozen known members in the whole sky – type O2 V((f*)).

The nebula responds tremendously to the UHC filter, and it is revealed as an oddly tapered oval-shaped nebula, elongated NNW-SSE, with the NNW end rounded, and the SSE end tapering to a smallish, rounded tip that fades away rapidly. The nebula’s glow varies in intensity, and it is noticeably brighter along a central spine. The high excitation blob lies ~60″ north of Sk -71°51. It appears as a small but gloriously bright, rounded, sharp-edged… well… blob! The bright blob, placed as it is at the head of the bright spine, with the nebula flowing out behind it in either direction like a bow wave gives one the lovely impression that the nebula is flying through the galaxy… a really gorgeous impression of movement!

The cluster, KMHK 1266, lies just off the northeast shore of N214C. At 333x, it is exceedingly small and exceedingly faint, not much more than a feeble smudge of dim stellar light. And some distance from the nebula’s southwest shore lies the cluster SL 656, which appears as an exceedingly small, round droplet of very faint light. And west of the northern end of the nebula lies another very small, very faint cluster, KMHK 1217. I could only pick it up with averted vision. These three clusters are the kind of clusters that one often only sees because you know to look for them – they aren’t at all apparent with a casual look!

16″ at 228x: The rest of N214 is elongated NNW-SSE and the OB association LH 107 is also long and elongated! It is a very big, bright, and unusually beautiful stellar association. Its stars swoop to the northwest with a beautiful chain of bright stars that runs N-S, a random scattering of smaller stars and the lovely soft glow of unresolved stars. At its northwest end lies a gathering of nebulosity – N214A, B, D and E and a small open cluster, SL 646, which appears as a small, faint, round, even glow. With the filter, N214B appears as a small, faint glow and N214D appears as very faint and vague round glow. Of the other nebular components (N214A, E, F, G, H), I can pick up nothing.