List of diffuse nebulae
Encyclopedia
Emission and reflection nebulae
- Barnard's LoopBarnard's LoopBarnard's Loop is an emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is part of a Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which also contains the bright Horsehead and Orion nebulae. The loop takes the form of a large arc centred approximately on the Orion Nebula...
- Boomerang NebulaBoomerang NebulaThe Boomerang Nebula is a protoplanetary nebula located 5,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Centaurus. The nebula is measured at , the naturally coldest place currently known in the Universe. The Boomerang Nebula was formed from the outflow of gas from a star at its core...
- Bubble Nebula
- Bubble Nebula in Barnard's GalaxyBubble Nebula (NGC 6822)The Bubble Nebula in Barnard's Galaxy has the official designation of Hubble 1925 I as it was the first object recorded in . It includes areas of bright H II emission. It is located north-west of the larger Hubble III....
- California NebulaCalifornia NebulaThe California Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California on long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely...
- Cave NebulaCave NebulaThe Cave Nebula, Sh2-155 or Caldwell 9, is a dim and very diffuse bright nebula within a larger nebula complex containing emission, reflection, and dark nebulosity. It is located in the constellation Cepheus....
- Corona Australis Nebula
- Cone NebulaCone NebulaThe Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by William Herschel on December 26, 1785, at which time he designated it H V.27. The nebula is located about 800 parsecs or 2,600 light-years away from Earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity...
- Crescent NebulaCrescent NebulaThe Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light years away. It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant around 400,000 years ago...
- Double Helix NebulaDouble Helix NebulaThe Double Helix Nebula is a gaseous nebula near the center of our galaxy. It is thought to have been distorted by magnetic torsion into the shape of two connected spirals, known popularly as a double helix, akin to the shape of DNA....
- Eagle NebulaEagle NebulaThe Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle...
- Elephant's Trunk NebulaElephant's Trunk nebulaThe Elephant's Trunk nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust in the star cluster IC 1396 – an ionized gas region located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth...
- Eta Carinae NebulaEta Carinae NebulaThe Carina Nebula is a large bright nebula that surrounds several open clusters of stars. Eta Carinae and HD 93129A, two of the most massive and luminous stars in our Milky Way galaxy, are among them. The nebula lies at an estimated distance between 6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth...
- Flame NebulaFlame NebulaThe Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away....
- Gum NebulaGum NebulaGum Nebula is an emission nebula that can be found in the southern constellations Vela and Puppis. It lies roughly 400 parsecs from the Earth. Hard to distinguish, it is believed to be the greatly expanded remains of a supernova that took place about a million years ago...
- Heart NebulaHeart NebulaThe Heart Nebula, IC 1805, Sh2-190, lies some 7500 light years away from Earth and is located in the Perseus Arm of the Galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. This is an emission nebula showing glowing gas and darker dust lanes...
- Lagoon NebulaLagoon NebulaThe Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region....
- North America NebulaNorth America NebulaThe North America Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb . The remarkable shape of the emission nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico...
- Omega NebulaOmega NebulaThe Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764...
- Orion NebulaOrion NebulaThe Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light...
- Pistol NebulaPistol NebulaThe Pistol Nebula surrounds one of the most massive stars known, the Pistol Star. Both are located 25,000 light years away from Earth, near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula contains approximately 10 solar masses worth of ionized gas that was ejected by the star several thousand years...
- Rosette NebulaRosette NebulaThe Rosette Nebula is a large, circular H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy...
- Soul NebulaSoul NebulaSoul Nebula is emission nebulae in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634 and IC1848...
- Tarantula NebulaTarantula NebulaThe Tarantula Nebula is an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud . It was originally thought to be a star, but in 1751 Nicolas Louis de Lacaille recognized its nebular nature....
- Trifid NebulaTrifid NebulaThe Trifid Nebula is an H II region located in Sagittarius. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'...
- Witch Head Nebula
- M43
- M78
- NGC 248
- NGC 249
- NGC 256
- NGC 261
- NGC 267
- NGC 281
- NGC 299
- NGC 306
- NGC 346NGC 346NGC 346 is an open cluster with associated nebula located in the Small Magellanic Cloud that appears in the constellation Tucana.-Gallery:-External links:* * *...
- NGC 371NGC 371NGC 371 is a star cluster, 200000 light-years away and located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.-External links:* - ESO Photo release...
- NGC 395
- NGC 595
- NGC 604
- NGC 1435NGC 1435The Merope Nebula is a diffuse reflection nebula, possibly a supernova remnant, in the Pleiades star cluster, surrounding the 4th magnitude star Merope. It was discovered on October 19, 1859 by the German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel...
, Reflection nebula in the PleiadesPleiades (star cluster)In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky... - NGC 1491
- NGC 1535NGC 1535NGC 1535 is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Eridanus. It is very to similar Eskimo nebula in both colour and structure but the central star is quite difficult to observe. NGC 1535 is no less than 1,500 light years away.-External links:...
- NGC 1579
- NGC 1714, NGC 1715
- NGC 1788NGC 1788NGC 1788 is a reflection nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is rather sharply defined on its southwest perimeter where it is flanked by the dark nebula known as Lynds 1616. Lynds 1616 is apparently part of NGC 1788. The brightest involved star is 10th magnitude and lies in the northwest...
- NGC 1931NGC 1931NGC 1931, found in the constellation Auriga has been referred to as a "miniature version of the Orion Nebula", as it shares some of the same characteristics. It is a mixed emission-reflection nebula, and contains a smaller version of the Trapezium in its hot young star cluster centered in the...
- NGC 1973, NGC 1975 and NGC 1977NGC 1973, NGC 1975 and NGC 1977NGC 1973/5/7 is a reflection nebula 1/2 degree northeast of the Orion Nebula. The three NGC objects are divided by darker regions. It is also called The Running Man Nebula and Sharpless Catalog 279.-External links:***...
- NGC 1999NGC 1999NGC 1999 is a dust filled bright nebula with a vast hole of empty space represented by a black patch of sky, as can be seen in the photograph. It is a reflection nebula, and shines from the light of the variable star V380 Orionis....
- NGC 2014
- NGC 2022NGC 2022NGC 2022 is an planetary nebula in the constellation Orion.In medium sized amateur telescopes it looks like small grayish patch of light. It is not very bright but it is still easy to spot it in the eyepiece....
- NGC 2023NGC 2023The reflection nebula NGC 2023 is in the constellation Orion. It is one of the brightest sources of fluorescent molecular hydrogen, and at 4 light-years wide it is one of the largest in the sky...
- NGC 2080, Ghost Head NebulaNGC 2080NGC 2080 is a star-forming region in the southern constellation Dorado. The nebula belongs to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy and is 168,000 light years distant. NGC 2080 was discovered by John Frederick William Herschel in 1834.-External links:* – Hubble...
- NGC 2174NGC 2174NGC 2174 is an H II emission nebula located in the constellation Orion and is associated with the open star cluster NGC 2175. It is thought to be located about 6,400 light-years away from Earth...
- NGC 2261NGC 2261NGC 2261 is a variable nebula located in the constellation Monoceros. It is illuminated by the star R Monocerotis , which is not directly visible itself....
- NGC 2440NGC 2440NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula, one of many in our galaxy. Its central star, HD62166, is possibly the hottest known white dwarf. The nebula is situated in the Puppis constellation.It was discovered by William Herschel on March 4, 1790...
- NGC 2736NGC 2736NGC 2736 is called The Pencil Nebula. It is part of the Vela Supernova Remnant, located near the Vela Pulsar in the constellation Vela. The nebula's linear appearance triggered its popular name. It resides about 815 light-years away from our solar system. It is thought to formed from part of...
, the Pencil Nebula - NGC 3576NGC 3576NGC 3576 is a minor nebula in the Sagittarius arm of the galaxy a few thousand light-years away from the Eta Carinae nebula. Eventually this nebula even received six different classification numbers. Currently, astronomers call the entire nebula NGC 3576....
- NGC 3603
- NGC 6188NGC 6188NGC 6188 is an emission nebula located about 4,000 light years away in the constellation Ara. The bright open cluster NGC 6193, visible to the naked eye, is responsible for a region of reflection nebulosity within NGC 6188....
- NGC 6193NGC 6193NGC 6193 is open cluster containing 27 stars in the constellation Ara, visible to the unaided eye. The cluster is associated with a nearby nebulosity, NGC 6188.-List of stars in cluster:-References:* * * * * * *...
- NGC 6334NGC 6334NGC 6334 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Scorpius. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel in 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-External links:* — ESO Photo Release*Astronomy Picture of the Day - 2010 April 21...
- NGC 6357NGC 6357NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius. This nebula was given the name War and Peace Nebula by the Midcourse Space Experiment scientists because of its appearance. They said that in infrared images the bright, western part resembles a dove, while the eastern part...
- NGC 6559
- NGC 6589
- NGC 6590
- NGC 6914
- NGC 7129NGC 7129NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula located 3,300 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. A young open cluster is responsible for illuminating the surrounding nebula. A recent survey indicates the cluster contains more than 130 stars less than 1 million years old...