About NGC 2359
NGC 2359 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation CMa.
An H II region: a cloud of hydrogen being ionised by the ultraviolet flood from hot young stars inside it. Every one is a star factory caught mid-production.
Uncommon nebula 27 EP
NGC 2359
RA 109.6291° · Dec -13.2272° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Star-forming region +14
- Nebula +8
- Big on the sky +5
Total score 27
7 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Star-forming region · +14
- Big on the sky · +5
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. An H II region: a cloud of hydrogen being ionised by the ultraviolet flood from hot young stars inside it. Every one is a star factory caught mid-production.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Canis Major.
- 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 January — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. That signature crimson is hydrogen-alpha at 656 nanometres — electrons falling back onto protons, one photon at a time.
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
- CMa
- dso type
- HII
- name
- NGC 2359
- size arcmin
- 10
How to see it
Look for NGC 2359 in the constellation CMa.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 2359 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 NGC 2359 is an uncommon nebula
NGC 2359 scores 27 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 7 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Nebula, Star-forming region 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.