diffuse nebula

[də′fyüs ′neb·yə·lə]

(astronomy)

A type of nebula ranging from huge masses presenting relatively high surface brightness down to faint, milky structures that are detectable only with long exposures and special filters; may contain both dust and gas or may be purely gaseous.

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References in periodicals archive

And through my telescope, on the night of 3 January 2003, the contrasting, well-defined planet and diffuse nebula glowed in the same field of view (96x).

The Taurus giants

Galaxy Double star Variable star Open cluster Diffuse nebula Globular cluster Planetary nebula

Using the map

Faint objects such as the diffuse nebula M78, in Orion, and the planetary nebula M76, in Perseus, are notoriously troublesome, but most of the really tricky Messiers are galaxies.

The Messier catalog: a binocular odyssey: try this minimalist approach to sharpen your observing skills and enhance your enjoyment

Setteducati and Weaver note that IC 1310 inhabits a nebulous region of the sky and had been previously listed as a diffuse nebula.

The Berkeley clusters: these groupings are rarely observed but often rewarding

Almach Double star 2.3, 5.0 9.7" NGC 891 Galaxy 9.9 11.7' x 1.6' NGC 752 Open cluster 5.7 75' 56 And Double star 5.8, 6.1 201" M33 Galaxy 5.7 71'x 42' NGC 604 Diffuse nebula 10.5 1.0' x 0.7' Collinder 21 Asterism 8.2 7.0' [SIGMA]172 Double star 10.2, 10.4 17.7" [beta]1313 Double star 8.6, 9.4 0.6" NGC 672 Galaxy 10.9 6.0'x 2.4' IC 1727 Galaxy 11.5 5.7'x 2.4' Object RA Dec.

Winter wonders: star-studded January skies offer deep-sky treats for every size telescope

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