Caldwell 50
Nebula in Monoceros · 5,000 light-years
🔭 Explore Caldwell 50 in the 3D map →View Caldwell 50 images →| Type | Nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Monoceros |
| Right ascension | 6h 31m 56s |
| Declination | +4° 57′ |
| Object distance | 5,000 light-years |
| Also known as | C50 · NGC 2244 |
Caldwell 50 is a nebula (NGC 2244) in Monoceros — a luminous cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It appears as number 50 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It is one of the showpiece objects Sir Patrick Moore chose for his Caldwell list of bright targets the Messier catalogue left out.
Observing Caldwell 50
Caldwell 50 lies in the constellation Monoceros and is best placed in the evening sky around December. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. Lying near the celestial equator, it can be seen from both hemispheres. 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.
See Caldwell 50 in Universe Finder
Open the interactive 3D map to fly to Caldwell 50 and see it in context among the real stars around it. Launch the 3D view →
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