RA 156.1920° · Dec -18.6422° · openngc
26 more points to reach Anomaly.
Jupiter's Ghost Nebula is an epic nebula. It lies about 4,783 light-years from Earth, sits in the constellation Hya and shines at apparent magnitude 7.7.
A planetary nebula: the shed outer atmosphere of a dying Sun-like star, lit from within by the naked stellar core left behind.
Look for Jupiter's Ghost Nebula in the constellation Hya. At apparent magnitude 7.7, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, Jupiter's Ghost 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.
Jupiter's Ghost Nebula scores 52 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the epic tier. Another 26 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 6 science badges — Nebula, Distant (over 1,000 light-years), Bright deep-sky object, Has a proper name, Planetary nebula (a dying star's shell) and Its dying star is still visible — 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.