List of planetary nebulae

Last updated March 18, 2024

The following is an incomplete list of known planetary nebulae.

Name	Messier Catalogue ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	NGC ^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Other designation^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Date discovered^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Distance (kly) ^{[lower-alpha 1]}^{[lower-alpha 2]}	Apparent magnitude (visual)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Constellation^{[lower-alpha 1]}
Glowing Eye Nebula or Dandelion Puffball Nebula		NGC 6751		1863	6.5	11.9	Aquila
Turtle Nebula		NGC 6210		1825	4.7	9.3	Hercules
Bow-Tie Nebula		NGC 40	Caldwell 2	1788	3.5	11.4	Cepheus
Ghost of Jupiter		NGC 3242		1785	1.4	8.6	Hydra
Blinking Planetary		NGC 6826	Caldwell 15		2.0	8.8	Cygnus
Dumbbell Nebula	M27	NGC 6853		1764	1.36 ^+0.16 _−0.21	7.5	Vulpecula
Ring Nebula	M57	NGC 6720		1779	2.3 ^+1.5 _−0.7	9	Lyra
Eskimo Nebula or Clown-faced Nebula		NGC 2392		1787	2.9 (approx.)	10.1	Gemini
Cat's Eye Nebula		NGC 6543		1786	3.3 ± 0.9	9.8B	Draco
Little Ghost Nebula		NGC 6369		1800 (prior to)		9.9	Ophiuchus
Medusa Nebula			Abell 21	1955	1.0 (approx.)	15.99	Gemini
Jewel Bug Nebula		NGC 7027		1878	3.0 (approx.)	10	Cygnus
Helix Nebula		NGC 7293		1824	0.68 ^+0.15 _−0.08	7.6	Aquarius
Little Dumbbell Nebula	M76	NGC 650, NGC 651		1780	3.4 (approx.)	10.1	Perseus
Owl Nebula	M97	NGC 3587		1781	2.6 (approx.)	9.9	Ursa Major
Twin Jet Nebula or Butterfly Nebula			M2-9	1947	2.1	14.7	Ophiuchus
		NGC 7026		1873	5.6	10.0	Cygnus
Butterfly Nebula		NGC 2346		1802	3.9 (approx.)	11.9	Monoceros
			Abell 39	1955	6.8 (approx.)	13.7	Hercules
Jones-Emberson 1 / Headphone Nebula			PK 164+31.1	1939	1.6 (approx.)	14.0	Lynx
Lemon Slice Nebula			IC 3568	1918	4.5 (approx.)	12	Camelopardalis
Soap Bubble Nebula			PN G75.5 1.7	2008	4 (approx.)		Cygnus
			IC 289	1888	5.2 (approx.)		Cassiopeia
			IC 2149	1906	3.6	10.6	Auriga
			IC 4593	1907	12	10.84	Hercules
			IC 4997		8	11	Sagitta
Skull Nebula		NGC 246		1785	1.6	8	Cetus
		NGC 6058		1787		13	Hercules
Oyster Nebula		NGC 1501		1787	4.2	13	Camelopardalis
		NGC 1514		1790	2.2	9.4	Taurus
		NGC 7048	PK 088-01.1	1878	5.2 (approx.)	12.1	Cygnus
		NGC 2022		1785	7 (approx.)	12.8	Orion
		NGC 2371		1785	4.3	13	Gemini
Blue Racquetball / Turquoise Orb		NGC 6572		1825	2.5	8.1	Ophiuchus
		NGC 6781		1788	2.5	11.4	Aquila
		NGC 6790		1882	11	10.5	Aquila
		NGC 6881		1881		13.8	Cygnus
		NGC 6884		1883	6.5	10.9	Cygnus
		NGC 6891		1884	7.2	10.5	Delphinus
		NGC 6886		1884	15.0 + 3.3	11.8	Sagitta
		NGC 6742	Abell 50	1788		16.5	Draco
		NGC 6894	PK 069-02.1	1784	4.2	12.3	Cygnus
Blue Flash Nebula		NGC 6905		1784	7.5 (approx.)	10.9	Delphinus
		NGC 6804		1791	12.5 (approx.)	11.2	Aquila
Fetus Nebula		NGC 7008		1787	2.7	12	Cygnus
		NGC 7354		1787	5.5		Cepheus
Blue Snowball Nebula		NGC 7662		1784		8.6	Andromeda
		NGC 6803		1882	12.5	11.1	Aquila
			Abell 78	1966		13	Cygnus
			Abell 31	1955	2	12.2	Cancer
Soccer Ball Nebula			Kronberger 61	2011	13	18.4	Cygnus
			IC 1454	1891	13.7 (approx.)	14	Cepheus
			Abell 12		6.9		Orion
			Hen 2-47		6.6		Carina
		NGC 5844		1837		12.7	Triangulum Australe
Southern Crab Nebula			Hen 2-104	1967	7	14.20	Centaurus
		NGC 5979		1835	13 (approx.)	12.10	Triangulum Australe
Red Spider Nebula		NGC 6537		1888 (prior to)	3.9 (approx.)	11.9	Sagittarius
		NGC 6565				14	Sagittarius
Bug Nebula or Butterfly Nebula		NGC 6302	Caldwell 69	1888 (prior to)	3.4 ± 0.5	7.1B	Scorpius
Saturn Nebula		NGC 7009		1782	3.0 (approx.)	8.0	Aquarius
Eight-burst Nebula or Southern Ring Nebula		NGC 3132		1888 (prior to)	2.6 (approx.)	9.87	Vela
		NGC 2438		1786	2.9 (approx.)	11.5	Puppis
		NGC 2440		1790	3.6 (approx.)	9.3	Puppis
Spirograph Nebula			IC 418	1888–1894	1.3 (approx.)	9.6	Lepus
			IC 1295	1867	4.7 (approx.)	12.7	Scutum
			IC 2448	1898	11 (approx.)	11.10	Carina
			IC 4663	1901	11 (approx.)		Scorpius
Spare-Tyre Nebula			IC 5148	1894	3 (approx.)	16.5	Grus
Retina Nebula			IC 4406	1888–1907	2.0 (approx.)		Lupus
Stingray Nebula			Hen 3-1357	1989	18 (approx.)	10.75	Ara
Spiral Planetary Nebula		NGC 5189		1835	2.6 (approx.)	9.5	Musca
			Mz 1	1922	3.4 ± 0.5	12.0	Norma
Ant Nebula			Mz 3	1922	8.0 (approx.)	13.8	Norma
Shapley 1			PLN 329+2.1	1936	~1	12.6	Norma
Engraved Hourglass Nebula			MyCn 18	1996	8.0 (approx.)	13.0	Musca
		NGC 3918	Blue Planetary	1834	4.9	8.5	Centaurus
		NGC 6578		1882	5.5 (approx.)	13.5	Sagittarius
Fleming 1			G290.5+07.9 ESO 170-6	1888?	7.9	13.1	Centaurus
Southern Owl Nebula			PN K 1-22 ESO 378-1	1971^[1]	4.3^[2]	17.4^[3]	Hydra
			IC 4191	1907		11.6	Musca
			IC 4634	1893	7.5	11.3	Ophiuchus
			IC 4637	1901	7.8	12.5	Scorpius
Robin's Egg Nebula		NGC 1360		1868	1.5 (approx.)	9.4	Fornax
Cleopatra's Eye		NGC 1535		1785	6.5 (approx.)	10.5	Eridanus
		NGC 2452		1847		12.20	Puppis
		NGC 2899		1835	6.5	11.8	Vela
		NGC 2792		1835		11.6	Vela
		NGC 2818		1826	10.4	12.50	Pyxis
		NGC 2867		1834	7.3	10	Carina
		NGC 3211		1837		11.5	Carina
		NGC 3195		1835	5.5 (approx.)	11.6	Chamaeleon
		NGC 4361		1785	3 (approx.)	10.9	Corvus
		NGC 5307		1836	10	11.2	Centaurus
		NGC 5315		1883	7 (approx.)	9.8	Circinus
		NGC 5882		1834		9.4	Lupus
		NGC 6072		1837	3.1	14	Scorpius
		NGC 6153		1883	4.4		Scorpius
Box Nebula		NGC 6309		1876		11.5	Ophiuchus
		NGC 6326		1826	11	12.2	Ara
		NGC 6563		1826		11	Sagittarius
		NGC 6629		1784		11.3	Sagittarius
Phantom Streak Nebula		NGC 6741		1882	7	11	Aquila
Little Gem Nebula		NGC 6818		1787	6	9.3	Sagittarius
			Abell 36	1955	0.78		Virgo
			Abell 70	1966	7.8–16^[4]		Aquila
The Box Nebula		NGC 6445		1786	4.5	11.2	Sagittarius
Eye of Sauron Nebula			M 1-42		10		Sagittarius

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Table entries are sourced from the individual articles, where available, for each nebula. Please see the linked article on the nebula for references.
↑ Many distances are estimates (denoted by the approx. suffix), as true distances are difficult to infer for planetary nebulae. Please see main article, Planetary nebulae, for more details on distance estimates.

Related Research Articles

Messier 46 or M46, also known as NGC 2437, is an open cluster of stars in the slightly southern constellation of Puppis. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Dreyer described it as "very bright, very rich, very large." It is about 5,000 light-years away. There are an estimated 500 stars in the cluster with a combined mass of 453 M_☉, and it is thought to be a mid-range estimate of 251.2 million years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2438</span> Planetary nebula in the constellation Puppis

NGC 2438 is a planetary nebula in the southern constellation of Puppis. Parallax measurements by Gaia put the central star at a distance of roughly 1,370 light years. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 19, 1786. NGC 2438 appears to lie within the cluster M46, but it is most likely unrelated since it does not share the cluster's radial velocity. The case is yet another example of a superposed pair, joining the famed case of NGC 2818.

NGC 1514 is a planetary nebula in the zodiac constellation of Taurus, positioned to the north of the star Psi Tauri along the constellation border with Perseus. Distance to the nebula is 466 pc, according to GAIA DR2 data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6781</span> Planetary nebula in the constellation Aquila

NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 2.5° east-northeast of the 5th magnitude star 19 Aquilae. It was discovered July 30, 1788 by the Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The nebula lies at a distance of 1,500 ly from the Sun. It has a visual magnitude of 11.4 and spans an angular size of 1.9 × 1.8 arcminutes.

Lambda Centauri, Latinized from λ Centauri, is a star in the southern circumpolar constellation of Centaurus. It has an apparent visual magnitude of +3.13, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere and places it among the brighter members of this constellation. The star is close enough that its distance can be determined directly using the parallax technique, which gives a value of approximately 470 light-years from the Sun. Although a putative solitary star, it has a candidate proper motion companion at an angular separation of 0.73 arcseconds along a position angle of 135°. The nebula IC 2944 lies nearby.

NGC 7354 is a planetary nebula located in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, at a distance of approximately 5.5 kly from the Sun. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on November 3, 1787. John L. E. Dreyer described it as, "a planetary nebula, bright, small, round, pretty gradually a very little brighter middle".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IC 2149</span> Planetary nebula in the constellation Auriga

IC 2149 is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Auriga. It is a small, bright planetary nebula with something to offer in telescopes of most sizes.

ζ Lupi is the brighter component of a wide double star in the constellation Lupus, consisting of an orange-hued primary and a fainter secondary with a golden-yellow hue. It is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 3.41. Based upon an annual parallax shift of 27.80 mas as seen from Earth, it is located 117.3 light-years from the Sun.

Q Scorpii, also designated as HD 159433, is an astrometric binary located in the southern zodiac constellation Scorpius. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.27, making it readily visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions. It lies in the tail of Scorpius, between the stars λ Scorpii and μ Scorpii and is located 7′ away from the faint globular cluster Tonantzintla 2. Based on parallax measurements from Gaia DR3, the system is estimated to be 158 light years distant, but is approaching the Solar System with a heliocentric radial velocity of −49 km/s.

HD 72922, also known as HR 3393, is a suspected astrometric binary located in the southern circumpolar constellation Chamaeleon. A 1993 paper by Olin J. Eggen lists it as a member of the Milky Way's old disk population.

NGC 6905, also known as the Blue Flash Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Delphinus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The central star is 14.0 mag. The distance of the nebula, as with most planetary nebulae, is not well determined and estimates range between 1.7 and 2.6 kpc.

HD 57197, also known as M Puppis or HR 2789, is a suspected astrometric binary located in the southern constellation Puppis, the poop deck. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.84, making it faintly visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions. Based on parallax measurements from the Gaia satellite, the system is estimated to be 629 light years away from the Solar System. The value is poorly constrained, but it appears to be receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 13 km/s. At its current distance, HD 57197's brightness is diminished by 0.3 magnitudes due to interstellar dust. It has an absolute magnitude of -0.43.

HD 72337, also known as HR 3370, is a solitary, bluish-white hued star located in the southern constellation Volans. With an apparent magnitude of 5.51, it is faintly visible to the unaided eye but only under ideal conditions.

Minkowski 2-42, abbreviated M2-42, is a planetary nebula that was discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in 1947. It is located about 30,800 light-years away from Earth in the Galactic bulge. It is known to be a bipolar planetary nebula containing two jets of material emerging from both sides of its central star. It has been found that its bipolar outflows have the typical features of Fast Low-Ionization Emission Region (FLIER).

Abell 63 is a planetary nebula with an eclipsing binary central star system in the northern constellation of Sagitta. Based on parallax measurements of the central star, it is located at a distance of approximately 8,810 light years from the Sun. The systemic radial velocity of the nebula is +41±2 km/s. The nuclear star system is the progenitor of the nebula and it has a combined apparent visual magnitude of 14.67. During mid eclipse the magnitude drops to 19.24.

Gamma³ Octantis, Latinized from γ³ Octantis, is a solitary star located in the southern circumpolar constellation Octans. It is faintly visible to the naked eye as an orange-hued star with an apparent magnitude of 5.28. The object is located relatively close at a distance of 264 light years but is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 15 km/s. At its current distance, Gamma³ Octantis' brightness is diminished by two tenths of a magnitude due to interstellar dust and Eggen (1993) lists it as a member of the old disk population. It has an absolute magnitude of +0.83.

Pi² Octantis, Latinized from π² Octantis, is a solitary star situated in the southern circumpolar constellation Octans. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.64, allowing it to be faintly visible to the naked eye under ideal conditions. Located 1,570 light years away, the star is approaching the Sun with a heliocentric radial velocity of −13.8 km/s.

Tau Octantis, Latinized from τ Octantis, is a solitary star in the southern circumpolar constellation Octans. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.50, allowing it to be faintly seen with the naked eye. The object is located at a distance of 480 light years but is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 31 km/s.

HD 34255, also known HR 1720, is a star located in the northern circumpolar constellation Camelopardalis, the giraffe. It has an apparent magnitude of 5.60, allowing it to be faintly visible to the naked eye. The object is located relatively far at a distance of about 1.65 kly but is approaching the Solar System with a heliocentric radial velocity of −7.7 km/s.

HD 197630, also known as HR 7933 or rarely 23 G. Microscopii, is a probable astrometric binary located in the southern constellation Microscopium. The visible component is a bluish-white hued star that is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent magnitude of 5.47. Based on parallax measurements from the Gaia satellite, the system is estimated to be 328 light years away. However, it is drifting closer with a heliocentric radial velocity of −30 km/s. At its current distance, HD 197630's brightness is diminished by 0.11 magnitudes due to interstellar dust. A 2012 multiplicity survey failed to confirm the velocity variations.

References

↑ Kohoutek, L. (1971). "New planetary nebula". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 13: 493. Bibcode:1971A&A....13..493K.
↑ Jacob, R.; Schönberner, D.; Steffen, M. (2013). "The evolution of planetary nebulae". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 558: A78. arXiv: 1307.6189 . Bibcode:2013A&A...558A..78J. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321532. ISSN 0004-6361.
↑ Phillips, J. P. (2005). "The distances of highly evolved planetary nebulae". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 357 (2): 619–625. Bibcode:2005MNRAS.357..619P. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08676.x . ISSN 0035-8711.
↑ Miszalski, B.; Boffin, H. M. J.; Frew, D. J.; Acker, A.; Köppen, J.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Parker, Q. A. (2012). "A barium central star binary in the Type I diamond ring planetary nebula Abell 70". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 419 (1): 39–49. arXiv: 1108.3957 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.419...39M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19667.x.

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[data-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Table entries are sourced from the individual articles, where available, for each nebula. Please see the linked article on the nebula for references.

[distance-2] Many distances are estimates (denoted by the approx. suffix), as true distances are difficult to infer for planetary nebulae. Please see main article, Planetary nebulae, for more details on distance estimates.

[kahoutek-3] Kohoutek, L. (1971). "New planetary nebula". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 13: 493. Bibcode:1971A&A....13..493K.

[jacob-4] Jacob, R.; Schönberner, D.; Steffen, M. (2013). "The evolution of planetary nebulae". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 558: A78. arXiv: 1307.6189 . Bibcode:2013A&A...558A..78J. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321532. ISSN 0004-6361.

[phillips-5] Phillips, J. P. (2005). "The distances of highly evolved planetary nebulae". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 357 (2): 619–625. Bibcode:2005MNRAS.357..619P. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08676.x . ISSN 0035-8711.

[6] Miszalski, B.; Boffin, H. M. J.; Frew, D. J.; Acker, A.; Köppen, J.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Parker, Q. A. (2012). "A barium central star binary in the Type I diamond ring planetary nebula Abell 70". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 419 (1): 39–49. arXiv: 1108.3957 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.419...39M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.19667.x.

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v t e Nebulae
Visible nebula	Dark nebula Diffuse nebula Emission nebula Planetary nebula Supernova remnant Nova remnant H II region Reflection nebula Variable nebula Protoplanetary nebula
Pre-stellar nebulae	Giant molecular cloud Bok globule Evaporating gaseous globule Solar nebula
Stellar nebula	Nova remnant Protoplanetary nebula Wolf–Rayet nebula Integrated Flux Nebula
Post-stellar nebulae	Planetary nebula Supernova remnant Pulsar wind nebula Supershell
Clouds	Interstellar cloud Molecular cloud Infrared cirrus High-velocity cloud H I region
Morphology	Bipolar nebula Pinwheel nebula
Intergalactic blobs	Lyman-alpha blob
Lists	Diffuse Largest Nebulae Planetary (PNe) Protoplanetary (PPNe) Supernova remnants (SNRs)
Related	Cometary knot
Category Commons Wiktionary

List of planetary nebulae

See also

Related Research Articles

References