Sh2-260 North

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. It shows the northern part of Sh2-260, an enigmatic HII region. The nebula also contains another lobe below the image. What is responsible for its twisted, double-lobed structure is unknown, although it might be related to the giant lambda Orionis molecular right to the east. The image was generated with observations in the B (blue), I (orange) and Hydrogen-Alpha (red) filters. In this image, North is up, East is to the left.