Gum 15 is a nebula situated 3000 light years from here in Vela. It is ionized by a powerful blue binary star system HD 74804.
The Nebula is characterized primarily by it H alpha region with faint wisps of blue and strong dark dust lanes. Some speculate that Gum 15 may actually be a cavity inside of a large molecular cloud.
The area is an active star forming region.
Imaged in LRGB and H alpha on our RiDK 500 at Observatorio, El Sauce, Chile.
Integration Time: 44 hours
Image Processing: Mike Selby