Star cluster with a nebula · Orion
NGC 1980 The Lost Jewel of Orion
Also known as: LBN 977
mag 2.59.3′ across
About
NGC 1980 (The Lost Jewel of Orion) is a star cluster with a nebula of magnitude 2.5 in Orion, about 9.3′ across.
How to find it
- NGC 1980 is in the constellation Orion.
- Best evenings: around late January it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
- Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 74° N.
When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.
What you will see
- EyesA small misty patch from a dark site.
- Binoculars (10×50)A bright glow wrapped around stars.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)Glowing clouds with dark lanes; a UHC filter shows much more.
For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.
Facts
| Designations | NGC 1980, LBN 977 |
|---|---|
| Type | Star cluster with a nebula |
| Magnitude | 2.5The smaller the number, the brighter. |
| Apparent size | 9.3′the full Moon is 31′ across |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 05h 35m 26.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −05° 54′ 36″ |
Sources and credits
Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →