About Blue Planetary
Blue Planetary is a common nebula. It sits in the constellation Cen and shines at apparent magnitude 8.1.
Clouds of gas and dust light-years across, where new stars are forged.
Common nebula 16 EP
Blue Planetary
RA 177.5748° · Dec -57.1823° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 2 badgesCommon 24 pts → Uncommon
- Nebula +8
- Has a proper name +8
Total score 16
8 more points to reach Uncommon.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Has a proper name · +8
Trivia
How we found it
- Named. Notable enough to have earned a proper name, not just a catalogue number.
Cosmic context
- Stellar nursery. Clouds of gas and dust light-years across, where new stars are forged.
Properties
- constellation
- Cen
- dso type
- PN
- mag
- 8.1
- name
- Blue Planetary
- named
- yes
How to see it
Look for Blue Planetary in the constellation Cen. At apparent magnitude 8.1, it is an easy target for binoculars.
Like any astronomical target, Blue Planetary 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 Blue Planetary is a common nebula
Blue Planetary scores 16 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the common tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 2 science badges — Nebula and Has a proper name — 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.