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NGC 604, one of largest nebulae (H II region) is localed in the Triangulum Galaxy (viewed by the Hubble Space Telescope).

Below is a list of the largest nebulae so far discovered, ordered by actual size (a list by angular diameter is listed separately below). This list is prone to change because of inconsistencies between studies, the great distances of nebulae from our stellar neighbourhood, and the constant refinement of technology and engineering. Nebulae have no standardized boundaries, so the measurements are subject to revision. Lastly, scientists are still defining the features and parameters of nebulae. Because of these rapid developments and adjustments, this list might be unreliable.

List

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2014)
List of the largest nebulae
Nebula Maximum dimension
(in light-years/parsecs) 		Type Notes
NGC 262 Halo Cloud 1,300,000 ly (400,000 pc)[1] H I region Spiral nebula surrounding NGC 262, which is one of the largest known galaxies.
Leo Ring 650,000 ly (200,000 pc)[2] HVC
Magellanic Stream 600,000 ly (180,000 pc)[3] complex of HVCs Connects the Large and Small Magellanic clouds; extends across 180° of the sky.
Lyman-alpha blob 1 300,000 ly (92,000 pc)[4] LαB Largest blob in the LAB Giant Concentration[citation needed]
Himiko Gas Cloud 55,000 ly (17,000 pc)[5] Intergalactic cloud
(possible LαB) 		One of the most massive lyman-alpha blobs known
HVC 127-41-330 20,000 ly (6,100 pc)[6] HVC
Smith's Cloud 9,800 ly (3,000 pc)[7] HVC Extends about 20° of the sky
Tarantula Nebula 1,895 ly (581 pc)[8][a] H II region Most active starburst region in the Local Group
NGC 604 1,520 ly (470 pc)[9][10][b] H II region Located in the Triangulum Galaxy
N44 1,000 ly (310 pc)[11] Emission nebula
N11 1,000 ly (310 pc)[12] H II region
NGC 2404 940 ly (290 pc) H II region Largest H II region located in the spiral galaxy NGC 2403
NGC 595 880 ly (270 pc)[13] H II region
NGC 6822 838 ly (257 pc) H II region
Gum Nebula 809–950 ly (248–291 pc)[14][15] Emission nebula
Bubble Nebula (NGC 6822) 758 ly (232 pc)[16][17][18] H II region
NGC 6188 600 ly (180 pc) Emission nebula
NGC 592 590 ly (180 pc)[19][20] H II region
N119 570 ly (170 pc)[21] H II region Peculiar S-shape
Sh2-310 531–681 ly (163–209 pc)[22][c] H II region Nebula surrounding VY Canis Majoris, which is one of largest known stars.
Carina Nebula 460 ly (140 pc)[23] H II region Nearest giant H II region to Earth
Dragonfish Nebula 450 ly (140 pc)[24] Emission nebula
RCW 49 350 ly (110 pc)[25] H II region
Heart Nebula 330 ly (100 pc) H II region
Westerhout 5 (Soul Nebula) 330 ly (100 pc) H II region
Henize 70 (N70 or DEM L301)[26] 300 ly (92 pc)[27] H II region The N 70 Nebula, in the Large Magellanic Cloud has a shell structure and is really a bubble in space. It is a "Super Bubble".
Barnard's Loop 300 ly (92 pc)[28][29] H II region
Sh2-54 252 ly (77 pc)[30][31] H II region
Prawn Nebula 250 ly (77 pc)[32] H II region
NGC 7822 150 ly (46 pc)[33] Emission nebula
IC 2944 142 ly (44 pc)[34][35] Emission nebula
Eagle Nebula 140 ly (43 pc)[36] H II region Part of another diffuse nebula IC 4703.
Rosette Nebula 130 ly (40 pc) H II region
Lagoon Nebula 110 ly (34 pc) H II region
NGC 3576 100 ly (31 pc) Emission nebula
Veil Nebula 100-130 ly (31-40 pc) Supernova remnant

By angular diameter

Celestial object Angular diameter or size Relative size
Magellanic Stream over 100°
Gum Nebula 36° 1,000 ly
Milky Way 30° (by 360°) 105,700 ly
Serpens-Aquila Rift 20° by 10° 575 ly or more
Canis Major Overdensity 12° by 12°
Smith's Cloud 11°
Large Magellanic Cloud 10.75° by 9.17° Brightest galaxy in the night sky, 0.9 apparent magnitude (V)
Barnard's loop 10°
Zeta Ophiuchi Sh2-27 nebula 10°
Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy 7.5° by 3.6°
Coalsack nebula 7° by 5°
Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex 4.5° by 6.5°
Hyades 5°30′ Brightest star cluster in the night sky, 0.5 apparent magnitude (V)
Small Magellanic Cloud 5°20′ by 3°5′
Andromeda Galaxy 3°10′ by 1° About six times the size of the Sun or the Moon. Only the much smaller core is visible without long-exposure photography.
Veil Nebula 3°
Heart Nebula 2.5° by 2.5°
Westerhout 5 2.3° by 1.25°
Sh2-54 2.3°
Carina Nebula 2° by 2° Brightest nebula in the night sky, 1.0 apparent magnitude (V)
North America Nebula 2° by 100′
Orion Nebula 1°5′ by 1°
Sun 31′27″ – 32′32″ 30–31 times the maximum value for Venus (orange bar below) / 1887–1952″
Moon 29′20″ – 34′6″ 28–32.5 times the maximum value for Venus (orange bar below) / 1760–2046″
Helix Nebula About 16′ by 28′
Spire in Eagle Nebula 4′40″ Length is 280″

See also

Notes

  1. ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle ) = 1,895 ly
  2. ^ distance × sin( diameter_angle ) = 1,520 ly
  3. ^ Those measurements are based on an apparent diameter of 480 arcminutes (') plus an assumed distance of 1.5 kpc and the current distance of VY CMa which is about 1.17 kpc as the nebula is sometimes found to have the same distance as VY CMa.

References

  1. ^ "The New York Times". Distant galaxy found to be largest known. 1987-03-13. Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  2. ^ Léo Michel-Dansa; Pierre-Alain Duc (2010). "The mysterious Leo giant gas ring explained by a billion year old collision between two galaxies". Canada France Hawaii Telescope. Archived from the original on 2013-10-10. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  3. ^ "Magellanic Stream". COSMOS - The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy. Swinburne University of Technology. Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Giant Space Blob Glows from Within". ESO Press Release. 17 August 2011. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  5. ^ Hsu, Jeremy (2009-04-22). "Giant Mystery Blob Discovered Near Dawn of Time". SPACE.com. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  6. ^ Josh Simon (Spring 2005). Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxies: Observational Tests of the Cold Dark Matter Paradigm on Small Scales (PDF) (PhD thesis). University of California, Berkeley. Bibcode:2005PhDT.........2S. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2006.
  7. ^ Lockman, Felix J.; Benjamin, Robert A.; Heroux, A. J.; Langston, Glen I. (May 2008). "The Smith Cloud: A High-Velocity Cloud Colliding with the Milky Way". The Astrophysical Journal. 679 (1): L21. arXiv:0804.4155. Bibcode:2008ApJ...679L..21L. doi:10.1086/588838. S2CID 118393177.
  8. ^ "Results for Tarantula Nebula". SEDS Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2007-05-08. 30 Doradus .. 49 kpc +- 3 kpc
  9. ^ Barba, Rodolfo (2004). "An in-depth analysis of a prototypical giant H II region: NGC 604". HST Proposal ID #10419: 10419. Bibcode:2004hst..prop10419B.
  10. ^ "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 604. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  11. ^ "Roses in the Southern Sky". ESO. 3 November 2003. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  12. ^ "N11 complex in LMC". astronomy and observation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  13. ^ "NGC 595: A Great Diffuse Nebula in M33". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 13 Jan 2013.
  14. ^ Sushch, I.; Hnatyk, B.; Neronov, A. (2011). "Modeling of the Vela complex including the Vela supernova remnant, the binary system γ2 Velorum, and the Gum nebula". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 525: A154. arXiv:1011.1177. Bibcode:2011A&A...525A.154S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015346. S2CID 55224501.
  15. ^ "result for Gum 12". Galaxy Map. Archived from the original on 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  16. ^ Karachentsev et al. 2004
  17. ^ Karachentsev & Kashibadze 2006
  18. ^ Cannon et al. 2006
  19. ^ "NGC 592 NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database Results". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
  20. ^ "Site of Professor C. Seligman: NGC 550 - 599". cseligman.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  21. ^ Ambrocio-Cruz, P.; Rosado, M.; Laval, A.; Le Coarer, E.; Russeil, D.; Amram, P. (July 22, 2008). "Kinematic field of the S-shaped nebula N119 in the LMC" (PDF). Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. 44: 355. Bibcode:2008RMxAA..44..355A. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  22. ^ Sharpless, Stewart (1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 4: 257. Bibcode:1959ApJS....4..257S. doi:10.1086/190049.
  23. ^ "NGC 3372 - The Eta Carinae Nebula". Atlas of the Universe. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  24. ^ "Dragonfish Coming at You in Infrared". NASA. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  25. ^ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Cosmic Construction Zone RCW 49 (3 June 2004)
  26. ^ "N70. HENIZE 70 – Astrodrudis". Archived from the original on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  27. ^ "N70 Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud". www.eso.org. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  28. ^ Wilson, B.A.; Dame, T.M.; Masheder, M.R.W.; Thaddeus, P. (2005). "A uniform CO survey of the molecular clouds in Orion and Monoceros". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 430 (2): 523–539. arXiv:astro-ph/0411089. Bibcode:2005A&A...430..523W. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20035943. S2CID 13916583. Archived from the original on 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  29. ^ O'Dell, C.R.; Ferland, G.J.; Porter, R.L.; van Hoof, P.A.M. (2011). "Physical Conditions in Barnard's Loop, Components of the Orion-eridanus Bubble, and Implications for the Warm Ionized Medium Component of the Interstellar Medium". The Astrophysical Journal. 733 (1): 9. arXiv:1103.2789. Bibcode:2011ApJ...733....9O. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/733/1/9. S2CID 5019523.
  30. ^ Sharpless, Stewart (December 1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". Astrophysical Journal Supplement. 4: 257. Bibcode:1959ApJS....4..257S. doi:10.1086/190049.
  31. ^ Reipurth, B. (December 2008). "The Young Cluster NGC 6604 and the Serpens OB2 Association". Handbook of Star Forming Regions, Volume II: The Southern Sky. 5: 590. Bibcode:2008hsf2.book..590R.
  32. ^ "Cosmic Recycling". Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  33. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 7800 - 7840". cseligman.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  34. ^ Thackeray, A. D.; Wesselink, A. J. (1965). "A photometric and spectroscopic study of the cluster IC 2944". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 131: 121–135. Bibcode:1965MNRAS.131..121T. doi:10.1093/mnras/131.1.121.
  35. ^ SEDS: IC 2944
  36. ^ "Messier 16". Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-11-15.

Sources

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