About IC 59
IC 59 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation Cas.
A reflection nebula. It produces no light at all; it is dust catching the glare of a nearby star and scattering it back at us.
Uncommon nebula 27 EP
IC 59
RA 14.3692° · Dec 61.1437° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Reflection nebula +10
- Nebula +8
- Big on the sky +5
- Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
Total score 27
7 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Reflection nebula · +10
- Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
- Big on the sky · +5
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A reflection nebula. It produces no light at all; it is dust catching the glare of a nearby star and scattering it back at us.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Cassiopeia.
- Never sets. So far north that from Britain, Canada or northern Europe it never dips below the horizon — it is up every clear night of the year.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around October — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. It looks blue for exactly the reason Earth's sky is blue: fine dust scatters short blue wavelengths far more efficiently than long red ones.
How we came to know it
- The Index Catalogue. The IC was the 1895 and 1908 supplement to the NGC — the first catalogue in history to be filled largely with objects found on photographic plates rather than by eye.
Properties
- constellation
- Cas
- dso type
- RfN
- name
- IC 59
- size arcmin
- 10
How to see it
Look for IC 59 in the constellation Cas.
Like any astronomical target, IC 59 is best seen from a dark site away from city lights, and when it is above the horizon depends on your latitude and the time of year. The visibility panel above works out tonight's viewing window for your saved location.
Why IC 59 is an uncommon nebula
IC 59 scores 27 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 7 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Nebula, Reflection nebula, Never sets (northern circumpolar) and Big on the sky — each earned for a real, measurable property of the object. Rarity on Spacedle is never random: the more remarkable an object's astrophysics, the more badges it collects, the higher it scores, and the rarer it ranks.