About the Running Man Nebula
the Running Man Nebula is a rare cluster. It sits in the constellation Ori.
A star cluster still wrapped in the nebula that made it — newborn stars lighting up their own birth cloud.
Rare cluster 38 EP
the Running Man Nebula
RA 83.8158° · Dec -4.8443° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 5 badgesRare 50 pts → Epic
- Cluster still wrapped in its gas +12
- Has a proper name +8
- Star cluster +7
- In Orion's hunting ground +6
- Big on the sky +5
Total score 38
12 more points to reach Epic.
Badges
- Star cluster · +7
- Has a proper name · +8
- Cluster still wrapped in its gas · +12
- In Orion's hunting ground · +6
- Big on the sky · +5
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 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. The stars are blue-white and brand new; the gas around them glows red, ionised by their ultraviolet glare.
What's in a name
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
How we came to know it
- The New General Catalogue. Its NGC number comes from J. L. E. Dreyer's 1888 catalogue, itself built on decades of sky sweeps by William Herschel and his sister Caroline.
Properties
- constellation
- Ori
- dso type
- Cl+N
- name
- the Running Man Nebula
- named
- yes
- size arcmin
- 10.2
How to see it
Look for the Running Man Nebula in the constellation Ori.
Like any astronomical target, the Running Man Nebula 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 the Running Man Nebula is a rare cluster
the Running Man Nebula scores 38 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the rare tier. Another 12 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 5 science badges — Star cluster, Has a proper name, Cluster still wrapped in its gas, 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.