Astronomy:List of largest known nebulae

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NGC 604, one of largest nebulae (H II region) is located in the Triangulum Galaxy (viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope).

Below is a list of the largest known nebulae so far discovered, ordered by actual diameter. This list is prone to change because of inconsistencies between studies, the great distances of nebulae from our stellar neighborhood, and the constant refinement of technology and engineering.

Caveats

Nebulae have no standardized boundaries, so the measurements are subject to revision. Lastly, scientists are still defining the features and parameters of nebulae. Because of these rapid developments and adjustments, this list might be potentially unreliable.

List

List of the largest nebulae
Image Nebula Maximum dimension
(in light-years/parsecs) 		Type Notes
SDSS NGC 262 sdss.org.jpg NGC 262 Halo Cloud 1,300,000 ly (400,000 pc)[1] H I region Spiral nebula surrounding NGC 262, which is one of the largest known galaxies.
Leo Ring.jpg Leo Ring 650,000 ly (200,000 pc)[2] HVC
Tracing the origin of the Magellanic Stream.jpg Magellanic Stream 600,000 ly (180,000 pc)[3] complex of HVCs Connects the Large and Small Magellanic clouds; extends across 180° of the sky.
Lyman-alpha blob LAB-1.jpg Lyman-alpha blob 1 300,000 ly (92,000 pc)[4] LαB Largest blob in the LAB Giant Concentration[citation needed]
Pia17558.jpg Himiko Gas Cloud 55,000 ly (17,000 pc)[5] Intergalactic cloud
(possible LαB) 		One of the most massive lyman-alpha blobs known
HVC 127-41-330 20,000 ly (6,100 pc)[6] HVC
Smith's Cloud - 2008 - Bill Saxton, NRAO, AUI, NSF.jpg Smith's Cloud 9,800 ly (3,000 pc)[7] HVC Extends about 20° of the sky
Tarantula Nebula by JWST.jpg Tarantula Nebula 1,895 ly (581 pc)[8][lower-alpha 1] H II region Most active starburst region in the Local Group
Nursery of New Stars - GPN-2000-000972.jpg NGC 604 1,520 ly (470 pc)[9][10][lower-alpha 2] H II region Located in the Triangulum Galaxy
ESO-N44-central region-LMC-phot-31b-03-fullres.jpg N44 1,000 ly (310 pc)[11] Emission nebula
N11 (Hubble).jpg N11 1,000 ly (310 pc)[12] H II region
NGC2403-Subaru-HST-L.jpg NGC 2404 940 ly (290 pc) H II region Largest H II region located in the spiral galaxy NGC 2403
NGC 595 center HST.jpg NGC 595 880 ly (270 pc)[13] H II region
NGC 6822 Bubble and Ring nebulae.jpg Ring Nebula (NGC 6822) 838 ly (257 pc) H II region The Ring Nebula is located in the lower right of the image
Finkbeiner H-alpha Gum Nebula.jpg Gum Nebula 809–950 ly (248–291 pc)[14][15] Emission nebula Extends about 36° of the sky
NGC 6822 Bubble and Ring nebulae.jpg Bubble Nebula (NGC 6822) 758 ly (232 pc)[16][17][18] H II region The Bubble Nebula is located in the upper left of the image
Rgb-ngc6193.jpg NGC 6188 600 ly (180 pc)[19] Emission nebula
NGC592 - SDSS DR14.jpg NGC 592 580 ly (180 pc)[20][21] H II region
Sh2-310 531–681 ly (163–209 pc)[22][lower-alpha 3] H II region Nebula surrounding VY Canis Majoris, which is one of largest known stars.
Carina Nebula by Harel Boren (151851961, modified).jpg Carina Nebula 460 ly (140 pc)[23] H II region Nearest giant H II region to Earth
Dragonfish600.jpg Dragonfish Nebula 450 ly (140 pc)[24] Emission nebula
Eso9931d.jpg N119 430–570 ly (131–175 pc)[25] H II region Peculiar S-shape
Rcw49 spitzer c1.jpg RCW 49 350 ly (110 pc)[26] H II region
Heartandfish32hours.jpg Heart Nebula 330 ly (100 pc)[27] H II region
Henize N70 Superbubble Nebula.jpg Henize 70 (N70 or DEM L301)[28] 300 ly (92 pc)[29] H II region The N 70 Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud has a shell structure and is really a bubble in space. It is a "Super Bubble".
BarnardLoopHunterWilson.jpg Barnard's Loop 300 ly (92 pc)[30][31] H II region
The star cluster NGC 6604 and its surroundings.jpg Sh2-54 252 ly (77 pc)[32][33] H II region
Detailed view of the Prawn Nebula from ESO’s VST.jpg Prawn Nebula 250 ly (77 pc)[34] H II region
S147 SH2-240 GeorgesAttard Apod1012020.jpg Simeis 147 160 ly (49 pc)[35] Supernova remnant
Cederblad 214 and NGC 7822 Nebulae - Davidedemartin 6.jpg NGC 7822 150 ly (46 pc)[36] Emission nebula
The Very Large Telescope Snaps a Stellar Nursery and Celebrates Fifteen Years of Operations.jpg IC 2944 Emission nebula
Eagle Nebula from ESO.jpg Eagle Nebula 140 ly (43 pc)[37] H II region Part of another diffuse nebula IC 4703.
Rosette Nebula Narrowband SHO focal length 384mm Stephan Hamel.jpg Rosette Nebula 130 ly (40 pc)[38] H II region
RCW 79 (Emission nebula).jpg RCW 79 122 ly (37 pc)[39] Emission nebula
VST images the Lagoon Nebula.jpg Lagoon Nebula 110 ly (34 pc)[40] H II region
ESO-NGC 3576-phot-17b-08-normal.jpg NGC 3576 100 ly (31 pc)[41] Emission nebula
NebulaN41.jpg N41 100 ly (31 pc)[42] Emission nebula
The following well-known nebulae are listed for the purpose of comparison.
Orion Nebula - Hubble 2006 mosaic 18000.jpg Orion Nebula 20 ly (6.132 pc)[43] Diffuse Nebula
Crab Nebula.jpg Crab Nebula 11 ly (3.4 pc)[44] Supernova remnant
The Bubble Nebula - NGC 7635 - Heic1608a.jpg Bubble Nebula 6[45]-10[46][47] ly (1.84-3.066 pc) Emission nebula
NGC7293 (2004).jpg Helix Nebula 5.74 ly (1.76 pc)[48] Emission nebula
Southern Ring Nebula (NIRCam Image).png Eightburst Nebula 0.8 ly (0.2453 pc)[49] Emission nebula
EtaCarinae.jpg Homunculus Nebula 0.58 ly (0.1778 pc) [50] Emission nebula Surrounds the star system Eta Carinae.
Stingraynebula.jpg Stingray Nebula 0.16 ly (0.049 pc)[51] Emission nebula One of the smallest nebulae.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ distance × sin( diameter_angle ) = 1,895 ly
  2. ↑ distance × sin( diameter_angle ) = 1,520 ly
  3. ↑ Those measurements are based on an apparent diameter of 480 arcminutes (') plus an assumed distance of 1.5 kpc and the current distance of VY CMa which is about 1.17 kpc as the nebula is sometimes found to have the same distance as VY CMa.

References

  1. ↑ "The New York Times". Distant galaxy found to be largest known. 1987-03-13. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/13/us/distant-galaxy-found-to-be-largest-known.html. 
  2. ↑ "The mysterious Leo giant gas ring explained by a billion year old collision between two galaxies". Canada France Hawaii Telescope. 2010. http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/en/news/LeoRing/. 
  3. ↑ COSMOS - The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy. Swinburne University of Technology. 
  4. ↑ "Giant Space Blob Glows from Within". ESO Press Release. 17 August 2011. http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1130/. 
  5. ↑ Hsu, Jeremy (2009-04-22). "Giant Mystery Blob Discovered Near Dawn of Time". SPACE.com. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090422-space-blob.html. 
  6. ↑ Josh Simon (Spring 2005). Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxies: Observational Tests of the Cold Dark Matter Paradigm on Small Scales (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. Bibcode:2005PhDT.........2S. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2006.
  7. ↑ Lockman, Felix J.; Benjamin, Robert A.; Heroux, A. J.; Langston, Glen I. (May 2008). "The Smith Cloud: A High-Velocity Cloud Colliding with the Milky Way". The Astrophysical Journal 679 (1): L21. doi:10.1086/588838. Bibcode: 2008ApJ...679L..21L. 
  8. ↑ "Results for Tarantula Nebula". http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2070.html. "30 Doradus .. 49 kpc +- 3 kpc" 
  9. ↑ Barba, Rodolfo (2004). "An in-depth analysis of a prototypical giant H II region: NGC 604". HST Proposal ID #10419: 10419. Bibcode: 2004hst..prop10419B. 
  10. ↑ "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 604. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/. 
  11. ↑ "Roses in the Southern Sky". ESO. 3 November 2003. http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0332/. 
  12. ↑ "N11 complex in LMC". astronomy and observation. http://astronomyandobservation.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/n11-complex-in-lmc.html. 
  13. ↑ "NGC 595: A Great Diffuse Nebula in M33". http://messier.seds.org/more/m033_n595.html. 
  14. ↑ Sushch, I.; Hnatyk, B.; Neronov, A. (2011). "Modeling of the Vela complex including the Vela supernova remnant, the binary system γ2 Velorum, and the Gum nebula". Astronomy and Astrophysics 525: A154. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015346. Bibcode: 2011A&A...525A.154S. 
  15. ↑ "result for Gum 12". Galaxy Map. http://galaxymap.org/cgi-bin/details.py?id=27340&t=hii&s=4_p29.0xp31.0&name=Gum%2012. 
  16. ↑ Karachentsev et al. 2004
  17. ↑ Karachentsev & Kashibadze 2006
  18. ↑ Cannon et al. 2006
  19. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara (7 June 2022)
  20. ↑ "NGC 592 NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database Results". http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/?q=byname&out_equinox=J2000.0&of=pre_text&out_csys=Equatorial&omegav=0.73&omegam=0.27&obj_sort=RA%20or%20Longitude&img_stamp=YES&objname=NGC%20592&corr_z=1&hconst=73&extend=no&list_limit=5. 
  21. ↑ "Site of Professor C. Seligman: NGC 550 - 599" (in en-US). http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc5a.htm#592. 
  22. ↑ Sharpless, Stewart (1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 4: 257. doi:10.1086/190049. Bibcode: 1959ApJS....4..257S. 
  23. ↑ "NGC 3372 - The Eta Carinae Nebula". http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebulae/ngc3372.html. 
  24. ↑ "Dragonfish Coming at You in Infrared". https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia14885.html. 
  25. ↑ Ambrocio-Cruz, P.; Rosado, M.; Laval, A.; Le Coarer, E.; Russeil, D.; Amram, P. (July 22, 2008). "Kinematic field of the S-shaped nebula N119 in the LMC". Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica 44: 355. Bibcode: 2008RMxAA..44..355A. http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/rmaa/v44n2/v44n2a10.pdf. 
  26. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Cosmic Construction Zone RCW 49 (3 June 2004)
  27. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Deep Field: The Heart Nebula (13 December 2023)
  28. ↑ "N70. HENIZE 70 – Astrodrudis". https://astrodrudis.com/n70-henize-70/. 
  29. ↑ "N70 Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud". https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso9948d/. 
  30. ↑ Wilson, B.A.; Dame, T.M.; Masheder, M.R.W.; Thaddeus, P. (2005). "A uniform CO survey of the molecular clouds in Orion and Monoceros". Astronomy and Astrophysics 430 (2): 523–539. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20035943. Bibcode: 2005A&A...430..523W. http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=bibcode&Itemid=129&bibcode=2005A%2526A...430..523WFUL. Retrieved 2018-11-15. 
  31. ↑ O'Dell, C.R.; Ferland, G.J.; Porter, R.L.; van Hoof, P.A.M. (2011). "Physical Conditions in Barnard's Loop, Components of the Orion-eridanus Bubble, and Implications for the Warm Ionized Medium Component of the Interstellar Medium". The Astrophysical Journal 733 (1): 9. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/733/1/9. Bibcode: 2011ApJ...733....9O. 
  32. ↑ Sharpless, Stewart (December 1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". Astrophysical Journal Supplement 4: 257. doi:10.1086/190049. Bibcode: 1959ApJS....4..257S. 
  33. ↑ Reipurth, B. (December 2008). "The Young Cluster NGC 6604 and the Serpens OB2 Association". Handbook of Star Forming Regions, Volume II: The Southern Sky 5: 590. Bibcode: 2008hsf2.book..590R. 
  34. ↑ "Cosmic Recycling". http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1535/. 
  35. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Supernova Remnant Simeis 147 (13 January 2022)
  36. ↑ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 7800 - 7840". http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc78.htm#7822. 
  37. ↑ "Messier 16". http://messier.seds.org/m/m016.html. 
  38. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Rosette Nebula (14 February 2012)
  39. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: RCW 79: Stars in a Bubble (14 July 2007)
  40. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Lagoon Nebula without Stars (8 August 2022)
  41. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula (28 September 2016)
  42. ↑ Henize, Karl G. (September 1956). "Catalogues of Hα-emission Stars and Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 2: 315. doi:10.1086/190025. ISSN 0067-0049. Bibcode: 1956ApJS....2..315H. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/doi/10.1086/190025. 
  43. ↑ Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Hartmann, Lee W. (1998-01-10). "A Preliminary Study of the Orion Nebula Cluster Structure and Dynamics" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 492 (2): 540–553. doi:10.1086/305076. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 1998ApJ...492..540H. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/305076. 
  44. ↑ Hester, J. Jeff (2008-09-01). "The Crab Nebula: An Astrophysical Chimera" (in en). Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 46 (1): 127–155. doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110608. ISSN 0066-4146. Bibcode: 2008ARA&A..46..127H. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110608. 
  45. ↑ HubbleSite 2000.
  46. ↑ Nemiroff & Bonnell 2005.
  47. ↑ Nemiroff & Bonnell 2006.
  48. ↑ O'Dell, C. R.; McCullough, Peter R.; Meixner, Margaret (2004). "Unraveling the Helix Nebula: Its Structure and Knots". The Astronomical Journal 128 (5): 2339–2356. doi:10.1086/424621. Bibcode: 2004AJ....128.2339O. 
  49. ↑ Belland, Brent; Kirby, Evan; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Wheeler, Coral (2020-10-26). "NGC 6822 as a Probe of Dwarf Galactic Evolution". The Astrophysical Journal 903 (1): 10. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abb5f4. ISSN 1538-4357. Bibcode: 2020ApJ...903...10B. 
  50. ↑ Abraham, Zulema; Falceta-Gonçalves, Diego; Beaklini, Pedro P. B. (2014). "Η Carinae Baby Homunculus Uncovered by A/km/kmLMA". The Astrophysical Journal 791 (2): 95. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/95. Bibcode: 2014ApJ...791...95A. 
  51. ↑ Bobrowsky, M. (1994). "Narrowband HST imagery of the young planetary nebula Henize 1357". The Astrophysical Journal 426: L47–L50. doi:10.1086/187336. Bibcode: 1994ApJ...426L..47B. 

Sources



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