Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070)
An extremely luminous H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, visible to the naked eye as a bright patch within the LMC.
Nebula in Dorado. Magnitude 5.0.
Can you see it from Guyana?
From Georgetown (6.8° N) it climbs to 14° above the southern horizon at its highest; from Lethem (3.4° N), to 18° above the southern horizon. It is highest at midnight on the night of 13 Dec, in the middle of its season. The page works out tonight's rise, highest point and set for both towns in Guyana time (UTC-4), and where the Moon is.
What you'll see
- Your eyes: Visible to the eye from a dark site as a fuzzy star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, low in the south: 14° from Georgetown.
- 10x50 binoculars: A bright knot in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
- A small telescope (80 to 100 mm): Shows its brighter structure; a nebula (UHC or OIII) filter helps.
- A camera: Spans about 40% of an APS-C frame at 800 mm (field 1.7° × 1.1°); needs a tracking mount. An H-alpha-sensitive (modified) camera brings out its red glow.
How big, how bright, how far
- Size on the sky: 40′, 1.3 Moons across (the Moon is about 31′ wide).
- Brightness: magnitude 5.0. Fainter than Georgetown's faintest stars (4.3) but brighter than Lethem's (6.0).
- Distance: 160,000 light-years. The light reaching your eye left it about 160,000 years ago.
What it is made of
- Type
- Emission Nebula / HII Region
- Distance
- Approx. 160,000 Lightyears
- True size
- Approx. 600 Lightyears diameter
- Ionized Hydrogen (HII): Vast, turbulent clouds, intense red emission
- R136 Star Cluster: Core of extremely massive, hot, young stars
- Ionized Oxygen (OIII): Contributes to blue/green hues
- Dust Filaments: Sculpted by stellar winds and radiation
More deep-sky objects: Eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372) · Orion Nebula (M42) · Rosette Nebula (Caldwell 49) · Lagoon Nebula (M8) · Trifid Nebula (M20) · Omega Nebula (M17)