About IC 446
IC 446 is a common cluster. It sits in the constellation Mon.
A star cluster still wrapped in the nebula that made it — newborn stars lighting up their own birth cloud.
Common cluster 19 EP
IC 446
RA 97.7758° · Dec 10.4593° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 2 badgesCommon 22 pts → Uncommon
- Cluster still wrapped in its gas +12
- Star cluster +7
Total score 19
3 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Cluster still wrapped in its gas · +12
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A star cluster still wrapped in the nebula that made it — newborn stars lighting up their own birth cloud.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Monoceros.
- 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. The stars are blue-white and brand new; the gas around them glows red, ionised by their ultraviolet glare.
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
- Mon
- dso type
- Cl+N
- name
- IC 446
- size arcmin
- 5
Nearby objects
How to see it
Look for IC 446 in the constellation Mon.
Like any astronomical target, IC 446 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 446 is a common cluster
IC 446 scores 19 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 3 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Star cluster and Cluster still wrapped in its gas — 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.