About NGC 5453
NGC 5453 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation UMa.
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 26 EP
NGC 5453
RA 210.7350° · Dec 54.3080° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Star-forming region +14
- Nebula +8
- Never sets (northern circumpolar) +4
Total score 26
8 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Star-forming region · +14
- Never sets (northern circumpolar) · +4
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 Ursa Major.
- Northern sky. It rides the northern half of the sky — an easier target the further north you are.
- Best time of year. It stands highest in the middle of the night around April — 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
- UMa
- dso type
- HII
- name
- NGC 5453
Nearby objects
How to see it
Look for NGC 5453 in the constellation UMa.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 5453 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 5453 is an uncommon nebula
NGC 5453 scores 26 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 8 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Nebula, Star-forming region and Never sets (northern circumpolar) — 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.