About IC 426
IC 426 is an uncommon 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.
Uncommon nebula 25 EP
IC 426
RA 84.1307° · Dec -0.2983° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Nebula +8
- Diffuse nebula +6
- In Orion's hunting ground +6
- Big on the sky +5
Total score 25
9 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Diffuse nebula · +6
- In Orion's hunting ground · +6
- Big on the sky · +5
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 426
- size arcmin
- 10
How to see it
Look for IC 426 in the constellation Ori.
Like any astronomical target, IC 426 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 426 is an uncommon nebula
IC 426 scores 25 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 9 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 4 science badges — Nebula, Diffuse nebula, In Orion's hunting ground 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.