About Box Nebula
Box Nebula is a common nebula. It sits in the constellation Oph and shines at apparent magnitude 11.5.
Clouds of gas and dust light-years across, where new stars are forged.
Common nebula 16 EP
Box Nebula
RA 258.5179° · Dec -12.9106° · 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
- Oph
- dso type
- PN
- mag
- 11.5
- name
- Box Nebula
- named
- yes
How to see it
Look for Box Nebula in the constellation Oph. At apparent magnitude 11.5, a small backyard telescope will bring it into view.
Like any astronomical target, Box 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.
Why Box Nebula is a common nebula
Box Nebula 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.