search
Get Started
search

Best Ngc

Updated Daily
Filter by Tags

Rankings use category fit, feature coverage, pricing signals, public reception, and recency. Affiliate relationships do not affect scores.

0.0 - 10.0
Best 1 Cat's Eye Nebula

The Cat’s Eye Nebula, formally NGC 6543, is a planetary nebula located within the Draco constellation. It's notable for its distinctive ring structure formed from the ejected material of a dying star. This visually complex object, first observed by William Herschel and later studied spectroscopicall...

2 Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula, formally NGC 7293, is a stunning planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius. It’s one of the brightest and nearest such objects, first observed by Karl Ludwig Harding before 1824. This expanding shell of gas and dust originates from a now-dead star, providing valuable i...

3 Southern Ring Nebula

The Southern Ring Nebula, formally designated NGC 3132, is a stunning example of a planetary nebula. Formed by the expelled gases of a dying star, it exhibits intricate shapes and vibrant colors due to ionization from the remaining stellar wind. The James Webb Space Telescope’s initial observations...

4 Iris Nebula

The Iris Nebula, formally NGC 7023, is a stunning reflection nebula located within the Cepheus constellation. It’s notable for its vibrant colors produced by light reflecting off interstellar dust and gas. This nebula was first observed in 1794 by William Herschel and is illuminated by the young st...

5 Bubble Nebula

The Bubble Nebula, formally NGC 7635, is an emission nebula located within the Cassiopeia constellation. It's notable for its distinctive bubble-like structure created by the energetic output of the star BD+60 2522. Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, it’s a region of ionized hydrogen gas (HII)...

6 Butterfly Nebula

The Butterfly Nebula is NGC 6302 in Scorpius, a bipolar planetary nebula with a famously hot central star hidden by a dusty waist.

7 Eskimo Nebula

The Eskimo Nebula is NGC 2392 in Gemini, discovered by William Herschel in 1787 and notable for its double-shell bipolar structure.

8 Crescent Nebula

The Crescent Nebula is NGC 6888, a Cygnus emission nebula discovered by William Herschel in 1792 and blown by the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136.

9 Cat's Paw Nebula

The Cat's Paw Nebula is NGC 6334 in Scorpius, a large star-forming complex about 5,500 light years away with many embedded young stars.

10 Thor's Helmet Nebula

Thor's Helmet Nebula is NGC 2359, an emission nebula in Canis Major blown by the Wolf-Rayet star WR 7 into a helmet-like shell.

11 Bow-Tie Nebula

The Bow-Tie Nebula is NGC 40 in Cepheus, discovered by William Herschel in 1788 and shaped by a carbon-rich Wolf-Rayet central star.

12 California Nebula

The California Nebula is NGC 1499, a long Perseus emission nebula discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884 and excited by the O star Xi Persei.

13 Ghost of Jupiter Nebula

The Ghost of Jupiter Nebula is NGC 3242 in Hydra, discovered by William Herschel in 1785 and named for its Jupiter-like telescopic disk.

14 Lobster Nebula

The Lobster Nebula is NGC 6357 in Scorpius, a star-forming region notable for the massive cluster Pismis 24 and intense ultraviolet radiation.

15 Wizard Nebula

The Wizard Nebula is the emission nebula Sh2-142 around the young open cluster NGC 7380 in Cepheus, discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1787.

16 NGC 5189
NGC 5189

NGC 5189 is the Spiral Planetary Nebula in Musca, discovered by James Dunlop in 1826 and noted for its S-shaped, multipolar structure.

17 Saturn Nebula

The Saturn Nebula is NGC 7009 in Aquarius, discovered by William Herschel in 1782 and named by Lord Rosse for its ringed-planet outline.

18 NGC 1333
NGC 1333

NGC 1333 is a Perseus reflection nebula discovered by Eduard Schonfeld in 1855 and known as an active young star-forming region.

19 Blue Snowball Nebula

The Blue Snowball Nebula is NGC 7662 in Andromeda, discovered by William Herschel in 1784 and known for its bright blue annular disk.

20 Pacman Nebula

The Pacman Nebula is NGC 281, a Cassiopeia H II region discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1883 and containing the cluster IC 1590 and Bok globules.

21 Red Spider Nebula

The Red Spider Nebula is NGC 6537 in Sagittarius, a bipolar planetary nebula notable for one of the hottest known white-dwarf central stars.

22 Hubble's Variable Nebula

Hubble's Variable Nebula is NGC 2261, a reflection nebula in Monoceros whose changing appearance was studied by Edwin Hubble in 1916.

23 NGC 1999
NGC 1999

NGC 1999 is an Orion reflection nebula lit by V380 Orionis; observations in 2009 showed its dark keyhole is an empty cavity, not dust.

24 NGC 2440
NGC 2440

NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula in Puppis, notable for its complex lobes and an exceptionally hot central white dwarf measured near 200,000 kelvin.

25 Monkey Head Nebula

The Monkey Head Nebula is NGC 2174, an H II region in Orion whose sculpted gas and dust were imaged by Hubble in 2014.

26 NGC 6729
NGC 6729

NGC 6729 is a variable reflection and emission nebula in Corona Australis, discovered by Julius Schmidt in 1861 and lit by the young star R CrA.

27 Blinking Planetary Nebula

The Blinking Planetary Nebula is NGC 6826 in Cygnus, named for the visual effect in which its nebula appears to blink around the star.

28 Glowing Eye Nebula

The Glowing Eye Nebula is NGC 6751, a planetary nebula in Aquila discovered by Albert Marth in 1863 and about 0.8 light-years across.

29 NGC 2899
NGC 2899

NGC 2899 is a planetary nebula in Vela, discovered by John Herschel on 27 February 1835 and noted for its bipolar, butterfly-like structure.

30 Statue of Liberty Nebula

The Statue of Liberty Nebula is NGC 3576, a bright H II region in Carina whose dust lanes and glowing gas suggest the famous monument's outline.

Loading more...

Save to your list

Save your favorites and follow how their scores change over time.

Save favorites
Get updates
Compare scores

Already have an account? Sign in

Compare Items

See how they stack up against each other

Comparing
VS
Select 1 more item to compare