Nebulae

433 CATALOGUED

Clouds of gas and dust: the places stars are born, and the wreckage they leave when they die.

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Lower Sword — apparent magnitude 2.50 (V)
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Four kinds

Emission nebulae glow because young stars ionise them. Reflection nebulae only scatter starlight. Dark nebulae block what is behind them. Supernova remnants are debris still expanding.

The planetary nebula misnomer

Nothing to do with planets — eighteenth-century telescopes made these shed stellar atmospheres look like planetary disks, and the name stuck.

[

THE FAMOUS ONES

] 12 ENTRIES
NAME
CLASS
MASS
DISTANCE
MAG
CONSTELLATION
Carina Nebula★
H II region
—
8500 ly
3.00 B
Carina
Great Orion Nebula★
Nebula with cluster
—
1344 ly
4.00 V
Orion
North America Nebula★
H II region
—
—
4.00 B
Cygnus
Lagoon Nebula★
Nebula
—
4100 ly
5.80 V
Sagittarius
Eagle Nebula★
Nebula
—
7000 ly
6.00 V
Serpens
Checkmark Nebula★
Nebula
—
5500 ly
7.00 V
Sagittarius
Helix Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
655.0 ly
7.30 V
Aquarius
Dumbbell Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
1360 ly
7.40 V
Vulpecula
M78★
Reflection nebula
—
—
8.00 V
Orion
Crab Nebula★
Supernova remnant
—
6500 ly
8.40 V
Taurus
Trifid Nebula★
Nebula
—
4100 ly
8.50 V
Sagittarius
Ring Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
2570 ly
8.80 V
Lyra
ALL CLASSESPLANETARY NEBULA · 130NEBULA · 94H II REGION · 83NEBULA WITH CLUSTER · 67REFLECTION NEBULA · 38SUPERNOVA REMNANT · 11EMISSION NEBULA · 8DARK NEBULA · 2
BY CONSTELLATION · 56 REGIONS
DORADO · 67SAGITTARIUS · 35ORION · 34CYGNUS · 27MONOCEROS · 22CARINA · 20TAURUS · 17CEPHEUS · 16SCORPIUS · 14CASSIOPEIA · 13URSA MAJOR · 12AQUILA · 11PERSEUS · 10TRIANGULUM · 9AURIGA · 7CENTAURUS · 7VULPECULA · 7COMA BERENICES · 6MENSA · 6OPHIUCHUS · 6ARA · 5CORONA AUSTRALIS · 5PUPPIS · 5TUCANA · 5VELA · 5CANIS MAJOR · 4GEMINI · 4LUPUS · 4MUSCA · 4CAMELOPARDALIS · 3HERCULES · 3HYDRA · 3SAGITTA · 3AQUARIUS · 2CHAMAELEON · 2DELPHINUS · 2DRACO · 2ERIDANUS · 2LYRA · 2NORMA · 2PYXIS · 2SCUTUM · 2SERPENS · 2TRIANGULUM AUSTRALE · 2ANDROMEDA · 1CETUS · 1CIRCINUS · 1CORVUS · 1CRUX · 1FORNAX · 1GRUS · 1LACERTA · 1LEPUS · 1PEGASUS · 1TELESCOPIUM · 1VIRGO · 1
NAME▲
CLASS
MASS
DISTANCE
MAG
CONSTELLATION
30 Dor Cluster
H II region
—
—
7.25 V
Dorado
Barbell Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
—
10.10 V
Perseus
Barnard's Merope Nebula
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
Blinking Planetary
Planetary nebula
—
5186 ly
9.44 V
Cygnus
Blue Flash Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
5711 ly
11.10 V
Delphinus
Blue Planetary
Planetary nebula
—
5346 ly
8.10 V
Centaurus
Bow-Tie nebula
Planetary nebula
—
4074 ly
11.89 V
Cepheus
Box Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
8924 ly
11.50 V
Ophiuchus
Bubble Nebula
H II region
—
—
11.00 B
Cassiopeia
Bug Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
2417 ly
9.60 V
Scorpius
California Nebula
Nebula
—
—
5.00 B
Perseus
Carina Nebula★
H II region
—
8500 ly
3.00 B
Carina
Cat's Eye Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
5294 ly
9.01 V
Draco
Cave Nebula
H II region
—
—
—
Cepheus
Checkmark Nebula★
Nebula
—
5500 ly
7.00 V
Sagittarius
Christmas Tree Cluster
Nebula with cluster
—
—
3.90 V
Monoceros
Coalsack Nebula
Dark nebula
—
—
—
Crux
Cocoon Nebula
Nebula with cluster
—
—
7.20 V
Cygnus
Copeland's Blue Snowball
Planetary nebula
—
6399 ly
8.30 V
Andromeda
Crab Nebula★
Supernova remnant
—
6500 ly
8.40 V
Taurus
Crescent Nebula
H II region
—
—
7.44 B
Cygnus
Dumbbell Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
1360 ly
7.40 V
Vulpecula
Eagle Nebula★
Nebula
—
7000 ly
6.00 V
Serpens
Eastern Veil
Supernova remnant
—
—
7.00 B
Cygnus
Eight-Burst Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
4119 ly
9.20 V
Vela
Eskimo Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
4106 ly
9.61 V
Gemini
Flame Nebula
H II region
—
—
11.00 B
Orion
Flaming Star Nebula
Nebula
—
—
10.00 B
Auriga
Gem A
Supernova remnant
—
—
12.00 B
Gemini
Great Orion Nebula★
Nebula with cluster
—
1344 ly
4.00 V
Orion
Helix Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
655.0 ly
7.30 V
Aquarius
Hind's Nebula
Reflection nebula
—
—
9.98 B
Taurus
Horsehead Nebula
Dark nebula
—
—
—
Orion
Hubble's Nebula
Reflection nebula
—
—
11.85 V
Monoceros
IC 1266
Planetary nebula
—
—
11.20 V
Ara
IC 1271
Nebula
—
—
—
Sagittarius
IC 1274
H II region
—
—
—
Sagittarius
IC 1275
Nebula
—
—
—
Sagittarius
IC 1283
H II region
—
—
—
Sagittarius
IC 1284
Nebula
—
—
7.70 B
Sagittarius
IC 1287
Reflection nebula
—
—
6.10 B
Scutum
IC 1295
Planetary nebula
—
3372 ly
12.50 V
Scutum
IC 1297
Planetary nebula
—
16 008 ly
10.70 V
Corona Australis
IC 1308
H II region
—
—
—
Sagittarius
IC 131
H II region
—
—
12.52 B
Triangulum
IC 1310
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Cygnus
IC 132
H II region
—
—
14.82 V
Triangulum
IC 133
H II region
—
—
18.45 V
Triangulum
IC 1340
Supernova remnant
—
—
—
Cygnus
IC 135
H II region
—
—
—
Triangulum
IC 1396
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Cepheus
IC 142
H II region
—
—
14.20 V
Triangulum
IC 143
H II region
—
—
11.40 B
Triangulum
IC 1454
Planetary nebula
—
13 721 ly
14.00 V
Cepheus
IC 1470
H II region
—
—
11.50 B
Cepheus
IC 1590
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Cassiopeia
IC 1644
H II region
—
—
11.70 V
Tucana
IC 1747
Planetary nebula
—
9755 ly
12.00 V
Cassiopeia
IC 1795
H II region
—
—
—
Cassiopeia
IC 1805
Nebula with cluster
—
—
6.50 V
Cassiopeia
IC 1831
Nebula
—
—
—
Cassiopeia
IC 1848
Nebula with cluster
—
—
6.50 V
Cassiopeia
IC 1871
H II region
—
—
—
Cassiopeia
IC 1990
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 1995
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 2003
Planetary nebula
—
17 903 ly
11.40 V
Perseus
IC 2067
Nebula
—
—
11.49 V
Perseus
IC 2087
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 2088
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 2105
Nebula with cluster
—
—
11.30 V
Dorado
IC 2111
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Dorado
IC 2116
H II region
—
—
14.21 V
Dorado
IC 2117
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Dorado
IC 2128
Nebula with cluster
—
—
11.10 V
Dorado
IC 2144
H II region
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 2145
Nebula
—
—
12.00 V
Dorado
IC 2149
Planetary nebula
—
10 626 ly
10.78 V
Auriga
IC 2159
Nebula
—
—
—
Orion
IC 2162
H II region
—
—
—
Orion
IC 2165
Planetary nebula
—
11 914 ly
10.50 V
Canis Major
IC 2177
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Monoceros
IC 2448
Planetary nebula
—
12 997 ly
10.40 V
Carina
IC 2501
Planetary nebula
—
—
10.40 V
Carina
IC 2553
Planetary nebula
—
11 999 ly
10.30 V
Carina
IC 2599
H II region
—
—
—
Carina
IC 2621
Planetary nebula
—
15 874 ly
11.20 V
Carina
IC 2631
Nebula
—
—
—
Chamaeleon
IC 2872
Nebula
—
—
—
Centaurus
IC 289
Planetary nebula
—
4723 ly
13.20 V
Cassiopeia
IC 2948
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Centaurus
IC 2966
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Musca
IC 3329
H II region
—
—
—
Coma Berenices
IC 336
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 341
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 351
Planetary nebula
—
18 330 ly
11.90 V
Perseus
IC 353
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 354
Nebula
—
—
—
Taurus
IC 3551
H II region
—
—
—
Coma Berenices
IC 3552
H II region
—
—
—
Coma Berenices
IC 3555
H II region
—
—
—
Coma Berenices