|
|
|
Messier 78 |
|
|
|
Click here to enlarge photograph.
|
|
|
|
|
DESCRIPTION M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in the sky. Discovered by Pierre Méchain in early 1780, Charles Messier added it to his catalog on December 17, 1780. It belongs to the Orion complex, a large cloud of gas and dust centered on the Orion Nebula M42/M43, and is about 1,600 light years distant. (Source: SEDS) Constellation: Orion - Distance: 1,600 Light Years RA: 05h 46.7m - DEC: +00d 03m - Magnitude: 8.3 - Apparent Size: 8' x 6' |
|
 |
