Owl Nebula

Nebula in Ursa Major · 2,030 light-years

🔭 Explore Owl Nebula in the 3D map →View Owl Nebula images →

Type	Nebula
Constellation	Ursa Major
Right ascension	11h 14m 48s
Declination	+55° 01′
Object distance	2,030 light-years
Apparent magnitude	9.9
Apparent size	3.6′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter	2.1 light-years across
Also known as	M97 · NGC 3587

Messier 97, popularly known as the Owl Nebula, is a nebula (also catalogued as NGC 3587) in Ursa Major — a glowing cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It was recorded by Charles Messier in his famous catalogue of 110 deep-sky objects. It spans roughly 3.6 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 9.9, it shows up well in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 3.6′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 2.1 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Owl Nebula

Owl Nebula lies in the constellation Ursa Major and is best placed in the evening sky around March. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It is best placed for observers in the northern hemisphere, and sits low for those far south. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. 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 Owl Nebula in Universe Finder

Open the interactive 3D map to fly to Owl Nebula 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