c59-1 — Hubble · Caldwell 59 · NASA, ESA, Bruce Balick and Jason Alexander (University of Washington), Arsen Hajian (U.S. Naval Observatory), Yervant Terzian (Cornell University), Mario Perinotto (University of Florence), Patrizio Patriarchi (Arcetri Observatory), and Reginald Dufour (Rice University); Processing by Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Jupiter's Ghost Nebula

Nebula in Hydra · 4,700 light-years

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Type	Nebula
Constellation	Hydra
Right ascension	10h 24m 46s
Declination	−18° 39′
Object distance	4,700 light-years
Apparent magnitude	7.7
Apparent size	0.4′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter	0.5 light-years across
Also known as	C59 · NGC 3242

Caldwell 59, popularly known as Jupiter's Ghost Nebula, is a nebula (NGC 3242) in Hydra — a luminous cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It appears as number 59 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 0.4 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 7.7, it is a rewarding binocular and small-telescope target.

Although it appears about 0.4′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 0.5 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Jupiter's Ghost Nebula

Jupiter's Ghost Nebula lies in the constellation Hydra and is best placed in the evening sky around February. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. Lying near the celestial equator, it can be seen from both hemispheres. It is a comfortable target for binoculars and small telescopes. 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