About IC 410
IC 410 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation Aur.
A nebula: a cloud of interstellar gas and dust, thinner than the best vacuum ever made in a laboratory yet spanning light-years.
Uncommon nebula 26 EP
IC 410
RA 80.6750° · Dec 33.3667° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Bigger on the sky than the full Moon +12
- Nebula +8
- Diffuse nebula +6
Total score 26
8 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Diffuse nebula · +6
- Bigger on the sky than the full Moon · +12
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A nebula: a cloud of interstellar gas and dust, thinner than the best vacuum ever made in a laboratory yet spanning light-years.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Auriga.
- Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around December — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. Nebular colours are chemistry made visible — red for hydrogen, teal for oxygen, blue where starlight is merely scattered.
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
- Aur
- dso type
- Neb
- name
- IC 410
- size arcmin
- 40
How to see it
Look for IC 410 in the constellation Aur.
Like any astronomical target, IC 410 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 410 is an uncommon nebula
IC 410 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Nebula, Diffuse nebula and Bigger on the sky than the full Moon — 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.