You will find M78 north of the belt stars in Orion. This reflection nebula is not nearly as impressive as M42 but is well worth the effort to find. Start your hop at 1.7 magnitude Alnitak, the easternmost of the belt stars. The nebula is about 2.5 degrees to the northeast. If you use a traditional 6X30 or 8X50 straight-through finder scope, place Alnitak at the south-southwest edge of the finder field. This will put M78 just past the halfway point toward the opposite side. Move to the northeast until Alnitak is half-a-degree outside the finder field. M78 should be nearly centered in the finder and visible in your low power eyepiece.
| Winter Sky Tour: M78-Reflection Nebula (Orion) RA: 05h 46.8m / DEC: +00° 03'.5 |
|
|
Home | About Cosmic Voyage | Getting Started | Deep-sky Observing | Planetary Observing | Astrophotography | Sketching | Glossary | Web Links
URL: http://www.cosmicvoyage.net
Layout, design & revisions © W. D. Ferris
Comments and Suggestions: wdferris1@gmail.com
Revised: February 14, 2002 [WDF]
The nebula appears fan-shaped, 7'x6', at 129X in my 10-inch Starfinder equatorial. It features a pair of 10th magnitude stars in the northwest corner. An 8th magnitude GSC star lies immediately to the north. When conditions allow, nebulosity is visible around these neighboring stars.