Reflection Nebula IC 353 and M45

Diffuse nebula IC 353, a reflection nebula, in Taurus

Right Ascension	03 : 55.0 (h:m)
Declination	+25 : 29 (deg:m)
Distance	0.38 (kly)
Visual Brightness	(mag)
Diameter	180 (arc min)

Discovered by E.E. Barnard in 1893.

This vast diffuse reflection nebula lies just north-east of the famous Pleiades star cluster, and is probably physically connected to the Pleiades nebulosity. It is appropriately described in the first IC catalog, as "very faint, extremely large, very diffuse," from E.E. Barnard's discovery report (Barnard 1894). Its diameter is about 3 degrees.

.. More to come soon ..

The image in our page was obtained by Chris & Dawn Schur with an 8-inch f/1.5 Celestron Schmidt Camera on Kodak Supra 400 film, from Happy Jack, Arizona, in January, 2003. Shown here is the extensive complex of blue reflection nebulosity surrounding the star cluster M45 in the constellation of Taurus. The nebulosity also encompasses the 5.2 magnitude star T1804 to the upper left, and in a blue arc down under near the bottom of the frame. The blue color is formed much the same way as particles in our atmosphere scatter blue light to make our sky blue, so its color should be - sky blue.

NGC Online data for IC 353

Reference

• E.E. Barnard, 1893. On the exterior Nebulosities of the Pleiades. Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol. 136, No. 3253, col. 193-194 [ADS: 1894AN....136..193B]

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Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: May 25, 2005