List of planetary nebulae

Last updated September 08, 2025

Planetary nebulae are a type of emission nebula created from the ejected gas of dying red giant stars.^[1]

The following is an incomplete list of known planetary nebulae.

Name	Messier Catalogue ^[a]	NGC ^[a]	Other designation^[a]	Date discovered^[a]	Distance (kly) ^[a]^[b]	Apparent magnitude (visual)^[a]	Constellation^[a]
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	4.8	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 Face 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)	2 ± 3	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.)	13.2	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	11.41	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	5.2 ± 1.6	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	16.7	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	12.9	Cepheus
Blue Snowball Nebula		NGC 7662		1784	5.9	8.6	Andromeda
		NGC 6803		1882	12.5	11.1	Aquila
			Abell 78	1966	5	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	14	Orion
			Hen 2-47		6.6	10.21	Carina
		NGC 5844		1837	9.45	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	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.)	10.9	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	4.9	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^[2]	4.3^[3]	17.4^[4]	Hydra
			IC 4191	1907	6.85	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	15	12.20	Puppis
		NGC 2899		1835	6.5	11.8	Vela
		NGC 2792		1835	10 ± 2	11.6	Vela
		NGC 2818		1826	10.4	12.50	Pyxis
		NGC 2867		1834	7.3	10	Carina
		NGC 3211		1837	10.76	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	7.7	9.4	Lupus
		NGC 6072		1837	3.1	14	Scorpius
			M2-42	1947	30.8	13.9	Sagittarius
		NGC 7094		1884	3.5	13.5	Pegasus
			M4-18	1959	17.1	14	Camelopardalis
			Abell 48	1955	14.9	17	Aquila
		NGC 6153		1883	4.4	10.9	Scorpius
Box Nebula		NGC 6309		1876	6.5	11.5	Ophiuchus
		NGC 6326		1826	11	12.2	Ara
		NGC 6563		1826	5.37 ± 0.06	11	Sagittarius
		NGC 6629		1784	13.4	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	12.2 ± 2.1	Virgo
			Abell 70	1966	7.8–16^[5]		Aquila
Box Nebula		NGC 6445		1786	4.5	11.2	Sagittarius
Eye of Sauron Nebula			M 1-42		10	14	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.

References

↑ information@eso.org. "Planetary Nebula". esahubble.org. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
↑ 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-2] 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-3] 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.

[1] rmation@eso.org. "Planetary Nebula". esahubble.org. Retrieved 2025-08-04.

[kahoutek-4] Kohoutek, L. (1971). "New planetary nebula". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 13: 493. Bibcode:1971A&A....13..493K.

[jacob-5] 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-6] 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.

[7] 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
Post-stellar nebulae	Planetary nebula Supernova remnant Pulsar wind nebula Supershell
Clouds	Interstellar cloud Molecular cloud Infrared cirrus Integrated Flux Nebula 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

References