Hubble · Caldwell 2 · NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Bow-Tie nebula

Nebula in Cepheus · 3,500 light-years

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Type	Nebula
Constellation	Cepheus
Right ascension	0h 13m 01s
Declination	+72° 31′
Object distance	3,500 light-years
Apparent magnitude	11.9
Apparent size	0.8′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter	0.8 light-years across
Also known as	C2 · NGC 40

Caldwell 2, popularly known as the Bow-Tie nebula, is a nebula (NGC 40) in Cepheus — a luminous cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It appears as number 2 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 0.8 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 11.9, it is a fainter object best hunted with a moderate telescope under dark skies.

Although it appears about 0.8′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 0.8 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Bow-Tie nebula

Bow-Tie nebula lies in the constellation Cepheus and is best placed in the evening sky around September. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It sits far enough north to be circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes, and never rises for most of the southern hemisphere. It is faint — plan for a moderate telescope and a dark, moonless sky. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

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Sources

Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.

Related objects

Orion Nebula — nebula
Ring Nebula — nebula
Eagle Nebula — nebula
Carina Nebula — nebula
Lagoon Nebula — nebula