The RCW Catalog

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RCW 1 Also: Sh 2-296, Gum 2 Coordinates: (224.53°, -1.96°) Distance: 1150 pc, Size: 66.9 pc Source: 1982ApJS...49..183B [ Find on map | See details ]
This large nebula forms the wings of the Seagull Nebula.
RCW 2 Also: Sh 2-292, Gum 1 Coordinates: (223.70°, -1.89°) Distance: 1150 pc, Size: 7.0 pc Source: 1982ApJS...49..183B [ Find on map | See details ]
The head of the Seagull nebula is both an HII region and reflection nebula (VDB 93). It is part of the CMa OB1 association and is ionised by the B0IV:e subgiant HD 53367, a young 20 solar mass star orbitted by a 5 solar mass companion in a highly elliptical orbit.
RCW 3 Also: Sh 2-294 Coordinates: (224.19°, 1.22°) Distance: 4600 pc, Size: 9.4 pc Source: 1982ApJS...49..183B [ Find on map | See details ]
According to Avedisova this HII region is ionised by an uncatalogued B0.5 V star (MFJ Sh 2-294 4) at a distance of 4300 +/- 1000 pc. It contains the loose infrared star cluster [BDS2003] 95. A detailed multiwavelength study in 2007 gives a distance estimate of 4800 +/- 200 pc. A 2008 study finds a double star cluster within this nebula, confirms the B0.5 V class ionising star, and suggests a closer distance of 3200 pc. Its odd shape looks like an upside down octopus - should it perhaps be called the Octopus nebula?
RCW 4 Coordinates: (224.40°, 3.20°) Distance: 2700 pc, Size: 66.6 pc Source: 1984A&AS...55..253M [ Find on map | See details ]
No description available yet for this RCW nebula.
RCW 5 Also: Sh 2-298 Coordinates: (227.75°, -0.15°) Distance: 5000 pc, Size: 32.0 pc Source: 2001AJ....121.2664C [ Find on map | See details ]
Nicknamed Thor's Helmet, this nebula (also called NGC 2359) is a wind blown bubble ionized by the Wolf-Rayet star WR 7 (HD 56925). You can view a much better image of Thor's Helmet here or here.
RCW 6 Also: Sh 2-301, Gum 5 Coordinates: (231.44°, -4.41°) Distance: 5800 pc, Size: 15.2 pc Source: 1982ApJS...49..183B [ Find on map | See details ]
Avedisova says that Sh 2-301 is ionised by the O6 V star LSS 207 and the B1 V star LSS 212 and places it in star formation region SFR 231.44-4.41 along with several reflection nebulae including Bran 6 and Bran 7 A-D. This HII region may be associated with the GS234-02 supershell. You can see another image of this region here.
RCW 7 Also: Sh 2-302, Gum 6 Coordinates: (232.56°, 0.89°) Distance: 1800 pc, Size: 11.0 pc Source: 1996AJ....112.1625J [ Find on map | See details ]
Sh 2-302 is part of molecular cloud [JKK96] A in front of supershell GS234-02 and is located at a distance of 1800 pc. It contains the infrared star cluster [DBS2003] 4. Avedisova says that it is ionised by stars associated with the Bochum 5 cluster, including the O9.5 V star HD 59986, and places it in star formation region SFR 232.56+0.89, along with several other HII regions and reflection nebulae. SIMBAD, however, gives the class for HD 59986 as B5, making it too cool to be an ionising star. Here's another image of this object from an astrophotographer who imaginatively calls it the Snowman nebula.
RCW 8 Also: Sh 2-305 Coordinates: (233.80°, -0.20°) Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 4.4 pc Source: 1995A&AS..114..557R [ Find on map | See details ]
Sh 2-305 is ionised by at least two O-class stars ([VM75] Sh 2-305 4 (O8.5 V) and [VM75] Sh 2-305 2 (O9.5 V)), and possibly two B0 class stars as well. It contains the infrared cluster [DBS2003] 5. Avedisova places this nebula in star formation region SFR 233.75-0.18 along with 5 infrared sources, a water maser and the star cluster Mayer 3. Sh 2-299, Sh 2-300, Sh 2-305, Sh 2-306, Sh 2-307 and Sh 2-309 are all part of the same giant molecular cloud complex, the GS234-02 supershell, at 4200 pc.
RCW 9 Also: Sh 2-304 Coordinates: (233.88°, -12.39°) Distance: 575 pc, Size: 33.5 pc Source: 2003MNRAS.346.1143B [ Find on map | See details ]
Along with Sh 2-303 and Sh 2-308, this HII region is ionised by WR 6 (EZ CMa).
RCW 10 Also: Sh 2-306 Coordinates: (234.31°, -0.36°) Distance: 4200 pc, Size: 36.7 pc Source: 1995A&AS..114..557R [ Find on map | See details ]
Avedisova lists three ionising O-stars for this nebula, including the hot O5 V star LSS 458. The others are the O9 III giant LSS 499 and the O9.5 III giant LSS 467. She gives a distance of 5380 +/- 300 parsecs. SIMBAD, however, says that LSS 458 is a much cooler B-class star. Sh 2-299, Sh 2-300, Sh 2-305, Sh 2-306, Sh 2-307 and Sh 2-309 are all part of the same giant molecular cloud complex, the GS234-02 supershell, at 4200 pc. A part of the much brighter Sh 2-309 (RCW 13) is visible in the bottom left of this image.

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Alex Rodgers, Colin Campbell, and John Whiteoak, working at Australia's Mount Stromlo observatory under the direction of Dutch-American astronomer Bart Bok, published their nebula catalog in 1960. The RCW catalog is largely an expansion of Colin Gum's 1955 catalog. Although astronomers publish articles referring to the RCW nebulae almost every month, there seems to be few places on the Internet that bring together information on these nebulae as a whole - unlike, for example, the Messier catalog. This is most likely because the Messier objects are visible to anyone with a pair of binoculars or a small telescope. Most of the RCW objects are clearly visible only in photographic plates taken by large telescopes. Fortunately some of these plates have now been digitally scanned and made publicly available.

Many of the brightest and most beautiful Milky Way star formation regions visible from the southern hemisphere are in the RCW catalog so the 182 objects it contains are well worth examining carefully. (In fact there are more than 182 objects as subsequent research has shown that some of the RCW nebulae consist of more than one object.) At least 50 objects in the RCW catalog are also in the Sharpless catalog and I have noted this in the descriptions of these objects.

These images were created using the POSS-II/UKSTU data of the Digitized Sky Survey and SuperCOSMOS using the process described here.

According to my correspondence with the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and the Space Telescope Science Institute, I am allowed to use the POSS-II/UKSTU data to create and display images for non-commercial purposes so long as I include this fine print for the SuperCOSMOS data:

Use of these images is courtesy of the UK Schmidt Telescope (copyright in which is owned by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council of the UK and the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board) and the Southern Sky Survey as created by the SuperCOSMOS measuring machine and are reproduced here with permission from the Royal Observatory Edinburgh.

and this acknowledgement taken from the DSS site:

The Digitized Sky Surveys were produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute under U.S. Government grant NAG W-2166. The images of these surveys are based on photographic data obtained using the Oschin Schmidt Telescope on Palomar Mountain and the UK Schmidt Telescope. The plates were processed into the present compressed digital form with the permission of these institutions.

The Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS-II) was made by the California Institute of Technology with funds from the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Sloan Foundation, the Samuel Oschin Foundation, and the Eastman Kodak Corporation.

The UK Schmidt Telescope was operated by the Royal Observatory Edinburgh, with funding from the UK Science and Engineering Research Council (later the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council), until 1988 June, and thereafter by the Anglo-Australian Observatory. The blue plates of the southern Sky Atlas and its Equatorial Extension (together known as the SERC-J), as well as the Equatorial Red (ER), and the Second Epoch [red] Survey (SES) were all taken with the UK Schmidt.

The "Second Epoch Survey" of the southern sky was made by the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Plates from this survey have been digitized and compressed by the ST ScI. The digitized images are copyright © 1993-5 by the Anglo-Australian Observatory Board, and are distributed herein by agreement.

The "Equatorial Red Atlas" of the southern sky was made with the UK Schmidt Telescope. Plates from this survey have been digitized and compressed by the ST ScI. The digitized images are copyright © 1992-5, jointly by the UK SERC/PPARC (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, formerly Science and Engineering Research Council) and the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board, and are distributed herein by agreement.

The compressed files of the "Palomar Observatory - Space Telescope Science Institute Digital Sky Survey" of the northern sky, based on scans of the Second Palomar Sky Survey are copyright © 1993-1995 by the California Institute of Technology and are distributed herein by agreement. The compressed files of the "Palomar Observatory - Space Telescope Science Institute Digital Sky Survey" of the northern sky, based on scans of the Second Palomar Sky Survey are copyright © 1993-1995 by the California Institute of Technology and are distributed herein by agreement.