List of largest known nebulae

Short description: none

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

Below is a list of the largest known nebulae so far discovered, ordered by actual diameter. This list is prone to change because of inconsistencies between studies, the great distances of nebulae from our stellar neighborhood, and the constant refinement of technology and engineering.

## Contents

* 1 Caveats
* 2 List
* 3 See also
* 4 Notes
* 5 References
* 6 Sources

## Caveats

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 potentially unreliable.

## List

List of the largest nebulae  Image  | 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][lower-alpha 1] | H II region | Most active starburst region in the Local Group
| NGC 604 | 1,520 ly (470 pc)[9][10][lower-alpha 2] | 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 |
| Ring Nebula (NGC 6822) | 838 ly (257 pc)  | H II region | The Ring Nebula is located in the lower right of the image
| Gum Nebula | 809–950 ly (248–291 pc)[14][15] | Emission nebula | Extends about 36° of the sky
| Bubble Nebula (NGC 6822) | 758 ly (232 pc)[16][17][18] | H II region | The Bubble Nebula is located in the upper left of the image
| NGC 6188 | 600 ly (180 pc)[19] | Emission nebula |
| NGC 592 | 580 ly (180 pc)[20][21] | H II region |
| Sh2-310  | 531–681 ly (163–209 pc)[22][lower-alpha 3] | 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 |
| N119 | 430–570 ly (131–175 pc)[25] | H II region | Peculiar S-shape
| RCW 49 | 350 ly (110 pc)[26] | H II region |
| Heart Nebula | 330 ly (100 pc)[27] | H II region |
| Henize 70 (N70 or DEM L301)[28] | 300 ly (92 pc)[29] | 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)[30][31] | H II region |
| Sh2-54 | 252 ly (77 pc)[32][33] | H II region |
| Prawn Nebula | 250 ly (77 pc)[34] | H II region |
| Simeis 147 | 160 ly (49 pc)[35] | Supernova remnant |
| NGC 7822 | 150 ly (46 pc)[36] | Emission nebula |
| IC 2944 | Emission nebula |
| Eagle Nebula | 140 ly (43 pc)[37] | H II region | Part of another diffuse nebula IC 4703.
| Rosette Nebula | 130 ly (40 pc)[38] | H II region |
| RCW 79 | 122 ly (37 pc)[39] | Emission nebula |
| Lagoon Nebula | 110 ly (34 pc)[40] | H II region |
| NGC 3576 | 100 ly (31 pc)[41] | Emission nebula |
| N41 | 100 ly (31 pc)[42] | Emission nebula |
| The following well-known nebulae are listed for the purpose of comparison.
| Orion Nebula  | 20 ly (6.132 pc)[43] | Diffuse Nebula |
| Crab Nebula | 11 ly (3.4 pc)[44] | Supernova remnant |
| Bubble Nebula | 6[45]-10[46][47] ly (1.84-3.066 pc)  | Emission nebula |
| Helix Nebula | 5.74 ly (1.76 pc)[48] | Emission nebula |
| Eightburst Nebula | 0.8 ly (0.2453 pc)[49] | Emission nebula |
| Homunculus Nebula | 0.58 ly (0.1778 pc) [50] | Emission nebula | Surrounds the star system Eta Carinae.
| Stingray Nebula | 0.16 ly (0.049 pc)[51] | Emission nebula | One of the smallest nebulae.

## See also

* List of largest cosmic structures
* List of largest known stars
* List of largest planets
* List of most massive stars
* List of most massive black holes
* List of largest galaxies

## 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. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/13/us/distant-galaxy-found-to-be-largest-known.html.
2. ↑ "The mysterious Leo giant gas ring explained by a billion year old collision between two galaxies". Canada France Hawaii Telescope. 2010. http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/en/news/LeoRing/.
3. ↑ COSMOS - The SAO Encyclopedia of Astronomy. Swinburne University of Technology.
4. ↑ "Giant Space Blob Glows from Within". ESO Press Release. 17 August 2011. http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1130/.
5. ↑ Hsu, Jeremy (2009-04-22). "Giant Mystery Blob Discovered Near Dawn of Time". SPACE.com. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090422-space-blob.html.
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. doi:10.1086/588838. Bibcode: 2008ApJ...679L..21L.
8. ↑ "Results for Tarantula Nebula". http://messier.seds.org/xtra/ngc/n2070.html. "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. http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/.
11. ↑ "Roses in the Southern Sky". ESO. 3 November 2003. http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso0332/.
12. ↑ "N11 complex in LMC". astronomy and observation. http://astronomyandobservation.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/n11-complex-in-lmc.html.
13. ↑ "NGC 595: A Great Diffuse Nebula in M33". http://messier.seds.org/more/m033_n595.html.
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. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201015346. Bibcode: 2011A&A...525A.154S.
15. ↑ "result for Gum 12". Galaxy Map. http://galaxymap.org/cgi-bin/details.py?id=27340&t=hii&s=4_p29.0xp31.0&name=Gum 12.
16. ↑ Karachentsev et al. 2004
17. ↑ Karachentsev & Kashibadze 2006
18. ↑ Cannon et al. 2006
19. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara (7 June 2022)
20. ↑ "NGC 592 NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database Results". http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/?q=byname&out_equinox=J2000.0&of=pre_text&out_csys=Equatorial&omegav=0.73&omegam=0.27&obj_sort=RA or Longitude&img_stamp=YES&objname=NGC 592&corr_z=1&hconst=73&extend=no&list_limit=5.
21. ↑ "Site of Professor C. Seligman: NGC 550 - 599" (in en-US). http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc5a.htm#592.
22. ↑ Sharpless, Stewart (1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 4: 257. doi:10.1086/190049. Bibcode: 1959ApJS....4..257S.
23. ↑ "NGC 3372 - The Eta Carinae Nebula". http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/nebulae/ngc3372.html.
24. ↑ "Dragonfish Coming at You in Infrared". https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/multimedia/pia14885.html.
25. ↑ 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". Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica 44: 355. Bibcode: 2008RMxAA..44..355A. http://www.scielo.org.mx/pdf/rmaa/v44n2/v44n2a10.pdf.
26. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Cosmic Construction Zone RCW 49 (3 June 2004)
27. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Deep Field: The Heart Nebula (13 December 2023)
28. ↑ "N70. HENIZE 70 – Astrodrudis". https://astrodrudis.com/n70-henize-70/.
29. ↑ "N70 Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud". https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso9948d/.
30. ↑ 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. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20035943. Bibcode: 2005A&A...430..523W. http://www.aanda.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=bibcode&Itemid=129&bibcode=2005A%26A...430..523WFUL. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
31. ↑ 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. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/733/1/9. Bibcode: 2011ApJ...733....9O.
32. ↑ Sharpless, Stewart (December 1959). "A Catalogue of H II Regions". Astrophysical Journal Supplement 4: 257. doi:10.1086/190049. Bibcode: 1959ApJS....4..257S.
33. ↑ 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.
34. ↑ "Cosmic Recycling". http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1535/.
35. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Supernova Remnant Simeis 147 (13 January 2022)
36. ↑ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 7800 - 7840". http://cseligman.com/text/atlas/ngc78.htm#7822.
37. ↑ "Messier 16". http://messier.seds.org/m/m016.html.
38. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Rosette Nebula (14 February 2012)
39. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: RCW 79: Stars in a Bubble (14 July 2007)
40. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Lagoon Nebula without Stars (8 August 2022)
41. ↑ NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: NGC 3576: The Statue of Liberty Nebula (28 September 2016)
42. ↑ Henize, Karl G. (September 1956). "Catalogues of Hα-emission Stars and Nebulae in the Magellanic Clouds" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 2: 315. doi:10.1086/190025. ISSN 0067-0049. Bibcode: 1956ApJS....2..315H. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/doi/10.1086/190025.
43. ↑ Hillenbrand, Lynne A.; Hartmann, Lee W. (1998-01-10). "A Preliminary Study of the Orion Nebula Cluster Structure and Dynamics" (in en). The Astrophysical Journal 492 (2): 540–553. doi:10.1086/305076. ISSN 0004-637X. Bibcode: 1998ApJ...492..540H. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/305076.
44. ↑ Hester, J. Jeff (2008-09-01). "The Crab Nebula: An Astrophysical Chimera" (in en). Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics 46 (1): 127–155. doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110608. ISSN 0066-4146. Bibcode: 2008ARA&A..46..127H. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110608.
45. ↑ HubbleSite 2000. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHubbleSite2000 (help)
46. ↑ Nemiroff & Bonnell 2005.
47. ↑ Nemiroff & Bonnell 2006.
48. ↑ O'Dell, C. R.; McCullough, Peter R.; Meixner, Margaret (2004). "Unraveling the Helix Nebula: Its Structure and Knots". The Astronomical Journal 128 (5): 2339–2356. doi:10.1086/424621. Bibcode: 2004AJ....128.2339O.
49. ↑ Belland, Brent; Kirby, Evan; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Wheeler, Coral (2020-10-26). "NGC 6822 as a Probe of Dwarf Galactic Evolution". The Astrophysical Journal 903 (1): 10. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abb5f4. ISSN 1538-4357. Bibcode: 2020ApJ...903...10B.
50. ↑ Abraham, Zulema; Falceta-Gonçalves, Diego; Beaklini, Pedro P. B. (2014). "Η Carinae Baby Homunculus Uncovered by A/km/kmLMA". The Astrophysical Journal 791 (2): 95. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/95. Bibcode: 2014ApJ...791...95A.
51. ↑ Bobrowsky, M. (1994). "Narrowband HST imagery of the young planetary nebula Henize 1357". The Astrophysical Journal 426: L47–L50. doi:10.1086/187336. Bibcode: 1994ApJ...426L..47B.

## Sources

* Cannon, John M.; Walter, Fabian; Armus, Lee; Bendo, George J.; Calzetti; Draine, Bruce T.; Engelbracht, Charles W.; Helou, George et al. (December 2006), "The Nature of Infrared Emission in the Local Group Dwarf Galaxy NGC 6822 as Revealed by Spitzer", The Astrophysical Journal 652 (2): 1170–1187, doi:10.1086/508341, Bibcode: 2006ApJ...652.1170C
* "An Expanding Bubble in Space". 2000. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2000/04/image/a/.
* Karachentsev, I. D.; Karachentseva, V. E.; Hutchmeier, W. K.; Makarov, D. I. (April 2004), "A Catalog of Neighboring Galaxies", Astronomical Journal 127 (4): 2031–2068, doi:10.1086/382905, Bibcode: 2004AJ....127.2031K
* Karachentsev, I. D.; Kashibadze, O. G. (January 2006), "Masses of the local group and of the M81 group estimated from distortions in the local velocity field", Astrophysics 49 (1): 3–18, doi:10.1007/s10511-006-0002-6, Bibcode: 2006Ap.....49....3K
* Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds (November 7, 2005). "NGC 7635: The Bubble Nebula". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051107.html.
* Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds (October 18, 2006). "NGC 7635: The Bubble". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap061018.html.

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Nebula

Visible nebula|

* Dark nebula
* Diffuse nebula
* Emission nebula
* Planetary nebula
* Supernova remnant
* Nova remnant
* H II region
* Reflection nebula
* Variable nebula
* Preplanetary nebula

Pre-stellar nebula|

* Giant molecular cloud
* Bok globule
* Evaporating gaseous globule
* Solar nebula

Stellar nebula|

* Nova remnant
* Protoplanetary nebula
* Wolf–Rayet nebula

Post-stellar nebula|

* Planetary nebula
* Supernova remnant
* Pulsar wind nebula
* Supershell

Clouds|

* Interstellar cloud
* Molecular cloud
* Infrared cirrus
* High-velocity cloud
* H I region

Morphology|

* Bipolar nebula
* Pinwheel nebula

Lists|

* Diffuse
* Planetary (PNe)
* Protoplanetary (PPNe)
* Supernova remnants (SNRs)

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