About IC 4678
IC 4678 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation Sgr and shines at apparent magnitude 10.4.
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 4678
RA 271.6395° · Dec -23.9544° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 4 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Nebula +8
- Toward the galactic centre +8
- Diffuse nebula +6
- On the zodiac +3
Total score 25
9 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Diffuse nebula · +6
- Toward the galactic centre · +8
- On the zodiac · +3
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
- How to spot it. At magnitude 10.4 you'll want a small backyard telescope, over in Sagittarius.
- Southern sky. It rides the southern half of the sky — an easier target the further south you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around June — 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
- Sgr
- dso type
- Neb
- mag
- 10.4
- name
- IC 4678
How to see it
Look for IC 4678 in the constellation Sgr. At apparent magnitude 10.4, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, IC 4678 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 4678 is an uncommon nebula
IC 4678 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, Toward the galactic centre and On the zodiac — 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.