Nebulae

433 CATALOGUED

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

RANKED LISTS
Brightest▸
Lower Sword — apparent magnitude 2.50 (V)
TOP 50
PRIMER — 60 SECONDS

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 7027
Planetary nebula
—
—
8.50 V
Cygnus
NGC 7048
Planetary nebula
—
5261 ly
12.10 V
Cygnus
NGC 7076
Planetary nebula
—
—
13.50 V
Cepheus
NGC 7094
Planetary nebula
—
4429 ly
13.40 V
Pegasus
NGC 7129
Nebula with cluster
—
—
11.50 V
Cepheus
NGC 7139
Planetary nebula
—
4553 ly
13.30 V
Cepheus
NGC 7354
Planetary nebula
—
5538 ly
12.20 V
Cepheus
NGC 7380
Nebula with cluster
—
—
7.20 V
Cepheus
NGC 7538
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Cepheus
NGC 7822
H II region
—
—
—
Cepheus
NGC 896
Nebula
—
—
—
Cassiopeia
North America Nebula★
H II region
—
—
4.00 B
Cygnus
Owl Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
2025 ly
9.90 V
Ursa Major
Pelican Nebula
H II region
—
—
8.00 B
Cygnus
Pencil Nebula
H II region
—
—
—
Vela
Phantom Streak Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
12 159 ly
11.50 V
Aquila
Red Spider Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
—
11.60 V
Sagittarius
Rim Nebula
Nebula
—
—
—
Ara
Ring Nebula★
Planetary nebula
—
2570 ly
8.80 V
Lyra
Rosette A★
Nebula
—
—
—
Monoceros
Rosette B
Nebula
—
—
—
Monoceros
Rosette Nebula
H II region
—
—
6.00 B
Monoceros
Saturn Nebula
Planetary nebula
—
4322 ly
8.00 V
Aquarius
the Running Man Nebula
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Orion
the War and Peace Nebula
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Scorpius
the Witch Head Nebula
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Eridanus
Toby Jug Nebula
Reflection nebula
—
—
—
Carina
Trifid Nebula★
Nebula
—
4100 ly
8.50 V
Sagittarius
Upper Sword
Nebula with cluster
—
—
4.20 V
Orion
Veil Nebula
Supernova remnant
—
—
7.00 B
Cygnus
λ Cen Nebula
Nebula with cluster
—
—
4.50 B
Centaurus
ο Per Cloud
Nebula with cluster
—
—
—
Perseus
ρ Oph Nebula
Nebula
—
—
5.10 B
Ophiuchus