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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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
NGC 2899
Planetary nebula
—
3307 ly
11.80 V
Vela
NGC 3180
H II region
—
—
—
Ursa Major
NGC 3181
H II region
—
—
15.79 B
Ursa Major
NGC 3195
Planetary nebula
—
6442 ly
11.60 V
Chamaeleon
NGC 3199
Nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3211
Planetary nebula
—
9462 ly
10.70 V
Carina
NGC 3247
H II region
—
—
7.60 V
Carina
NGC 3324
Nebula with cluster
—
—
6.70 V
Carina
NGC 3503
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3576
H II region
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3579
Nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3581
H II region
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3582
Nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3584
Nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3586
Nebula
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3603
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Carina
NGC 3699
Planetary nebula
—
5284 ly
11.30 V
Centaurus
NGC 4071
Planetary nebula
—
5205 ly
13.00 V
Musca
NGC 4361
Planetary nebula
—
2893 ly
10.90 V
Corvus
NGC 4559C
H II region
—
—
—
Coma Berenices
NGC 460
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Tucana
NGC 5189
Planetary nebula
—
1781 ly
10.30 B
Musca
NGC 5307
Planetary nebula
—
10 551 ly
11.20 V
Centaurus
NGC 5315
Planetary nebula
—
—
9.80 V
Circinus
NGC 5367
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Centaurus
NGC 5447
H II region
—
—
—
Ursa Major
NGC 5450
H II region
—
—
—
Ursa Major
NGC 5451
H II region
—
—
16.70 B
Ursa Major
NGC 5453
H II region
—
—
—
Ursa Major
NGC 5455
H II region
—
—
15.22 B
Ursa Major
NGC 5458
H II region
—
—
—
Ursa Major
NGC 5461
H II region
—
—
14.38 B
Ursa Major
NGC 5462
H II region
—
—
18.17 B
Ursa Major
NGC 5471
H II region
—
—
14.54 B
Ursa Major
NGC 5844
Planetary nebula
—
—
13.20 B
Triangulum Australe
NGC 5873
Planetary nebula
—
17 759 ly
11.00 V
Lupus
NGC 588
H II region
—
—
14.44 V
Triangulum
NGC 5882
Planetary nebula
—
7704 ly
10.18 V
Lupus
NGC 595
H II region
—
—
—
Triangulum
NGC 5979
Planetary nebula
—
13 291 ly
11.50 V
Triangulum Australe
NGC 6026
Planetary nebula
—
7821 ly
12.90 V
Lupus
NGC 604
H II region
—
—
—
Triangulum
NGC 6058
Planetary nebula
—
11 539 ly
12.90 V
Hercules
NGC 6072
Planetary nebula
—
3317 ly
11.70 V
Scorpius
NGC 6153
Planetary nebula
—
4834 ly
10.90 V
Scorpius
NGC 6164
Nebula
—
—
6.71 V
Norma
NGC 6165
Nebula
—
—
6.71 V
Norma
NGC 6210
Planetary nebula
—
7443 ly
9.65 V
Hercules
NGC 6250
Nebula with cluster
—
—
5.90 V
Ara
NGC 6326
Planetary nebula
—
11 451 ly
12.20 B
Ara
NGC 6334
Supernova remnant
—
—
—
Scorpius
NGC 6337
Planetary nebula
—
4416 ly
12.30 V
Scorpius
NGC 6439
Planetary nebula
—
20 646 ly
12.60 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6526
Nebula
—
—
—
Sagittarius
NGC 6530
Nebula with cluster
—
—
4.60 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6559
Nebula
—
—
—
Sagittarius
NGC 6563
Planetary nebula
—
5369 ly
11.00 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6565
Planetary nebula
—
15 199 ly
11.60 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6567
Planetary nebula
—
11 774 ly
11.00 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6572
Planetary nebula
—
5662 ly
8.10 V
Ophiuchus
NGC 6578
Planetary nebula
—
11 866 ly
12.90 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6589
Nebula
—
—
10.50 B
Sagittarius
NGC 6590
Reflection nebula
—
—
9.80 B
Sagittarius
NGC 6620
Planetary nebula
—
28 819 ly
12.70 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6629
Planetary nebula
—
7736 ly
11.30 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6644
Planetary nebula
—
—
10.70 V
Sagittarius
NGC 6726
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Corona Australis
NGC 6727
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Corona Australis
NGC 6729
Nebula
—
—
—
Corona Australis
NGC 6742
Planetary nebula
—
—
13.40 V
Draco
NGC 6751
Planetary nebula
—
8431 ly
11.90 V
Aquila
NGC 6765
Planetary nebula
—
7612 ly
12.90 V
Lyra
NGC 6772
Planetary nebula
—
4129 ly
12.70 V
Aquila
NGC 6778
Planetary nebula
—
10 274 ly
12.30 V
Aquila
NGC 6781
Planetary nebula
—
2303 ly
11.40 V
Aquila
NGC 6790
Planetary nebula
—
—
10.50 V
Aquila
NGC 6803
Planetary nebula
—
17 198 ly
11.40 V
Aquila
NGC 6804
Planetary nebula
—
5629 ly
12.00 V
Aquila
NGC 6807
Planetary nebula
—
40 933 ly
12.00 V
Aquila
NGC 6813
Planetary nebula
—
—
—
Vulpecula
NGC 6820
Nebula
—
—
15.00 B
Vulpecula
NGC 6823
Nebula with cluster
—
—
7.10 V
Vulpecula
NGC 6833
Planetary nebula
—
—
12.10 V
Cygnus
NGC 6842
Planetary nebula
—
4501 ly
13.10 V
Vulpecula
NGC 6847
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Cygnus
NGC 6852
Planetary nebula
—
8924 ly
12.60 V
Aquila
NGC 6857
H II region
—
—
11.40 B
Cygnus
NGC 6879
Planetary nebula
—
25 088 ly
12.50 V
Sagitta
NGC 6881
Planetary nebula
—
17 417 ly
13.90 V
Cygnus
NGC 6884
Planetary nebula
—
12 492 ly
10.90 V
Cygnus
NGC 6886
Planetary nebula
—
14 201 ly
11.40 V
Sagitta
NGC 6891
Planetary nebula
—
11 784 ly
10.50 V
Delphinus
NGC 6894
Planetary nebula
—
5444 ly
12.30 V
Cygnus
NGC 6914
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Cygnus
NGC 6974
Supernova remnant
—
—
—
Cygnus
NGC 6979
Supernova remnant
—
—
—
Cygnus
NGC 6995
Supernova remnant
—
—
7.00 B
Cygnus
NGC 6997
Nebula with cluster
—
—
10.00 V
Cygnus
NGC 7008
Planetary nebula
—
2834 ly
10.70 V
Cygnus
NGC 7026
Planetary nebula
—
7671 ly
10.90 V
Cygnus