About NGC 6727
NGC 6727 is an uncommon nebula. It sits in the constellation CrA.
A reflection nebula. It produces no light at all; it is dust catching the glare of a nearby star and scattering it back at us.
Uncommon nebula 30 EP
NGC 6727
RA 285.4261° · Dec -36.8762° · openngc
Score breakdown
· 3 badgesUncommon 34 pts → Rare
- Bigger on the sky than the full Moon +12
- Reflection nebula +10
- Nebula +8
Total score 30
4 more points to reach Rare.
Badges
- Nebula · +8
- Reflection nebula · +10
- Bigger on the sky than the full Moon · +12
Trivia
What it actually is
- What it actually is. A reflection nebula. It produces no light at all; it is dust catching the glare of a nearby star and scattering it back at us.
Find it in the sky
- Where to look. You'll find it in the constellation Corona Australis.
- 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 July — that's when to go looking.
Its true colour
- Its true colour. It looks blue for exactly the reason Earth's sky is blue: fine dust scatters short blue wavelengths far more efficiently than long red ones.
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
- CrA
- dso type
- RfN
- name
- NGC 6727
- size arcmin
- 80
How to see it
Look for NGC 6727 in the constellation CrA.
Like any astronomical target, NGC 6727 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 6727 is an uncommon nebula
NGC 6727 scores 30 points on Spacedle's rarity scale, which places it in the uncommon tier. Another 4 points would lift it into a rarer tier.
That score comes from 3 science badges — Nebula, Reflection nebula and Bigger on the sky than the full Moon — 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.