About IC 420
IC 420 is a common nebula. It sits in the constellation Ori.
A nebula: a cloud of interstellar gas and dust, thinner than the best vacuum ever made in a laboratory yet spanning light-years.
Common nebula 20 EP
IC 420
RA 83.0396° · Dec -4.5047° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Nebula +8
- Diffuse nebula +6
- In Orion's hunting ground +6
Total score 20
2 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Diffuse nebula · +6
- In Orion's hunting ground · +6
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 Orion.
- Seen from everywhere. It sits almost on the celestial equator, so it can be seen from essentially anywhere on Earth.
- 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
- Ori
- dso type
- Neb
- name
- IC 420
- size arcmin
- 6.03
How to see it
Look for IC 420 in the constellation Ori.
Like any astronomical target, IC 420 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 420 is a common nebula
IC 420 scores 20 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 2 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Nebula, Diffuse nebula and In Orion's hunting ground — 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.