RA 83.9816° · Dec -69.6485° · openngc
6 more points to reach Uncommon.
NGC 2048 is a common nebula. It sits in the constellation Dor and shines at apparent magnitude 12.17.
An emission nebula, generating its own light: its gas is ionised by nearby stars and glows in its own right rather than reflecting anything.
Look for NGC 2048 in the constellation Dor. At apparent magnitude 12.17, it takes a larger telescope or a long-exposure image to capture.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2048 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.
NGC 2048 scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 6 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Nebula and Emission nebula (glowing 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.