Emission nebula · Vela
NGC 2736 Pencil Nebula
30′ across
About
NGC 2736, the Pencil Nebula, is an emission nebula in Vela, about 30′ across.
How to find it
- NGC 2736 is in the constellation Vela.
- Best evenings: around late March 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 34° 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
- EyesNot visible to the naked eye.
- Binoculars (10×50)Hard to say: no reliable brightness is known.
- Telescope (6–8 inch)Brightness unknown, so probably a challenge.
For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.
Facts
| Designations | NGC 2736 |
|---|---|
| Type | Emission nebula |
| Apparent size | 30′ × 7′the full Moon is 31′ across |
| Constellation | Vela |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 09h 00m 16.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | −45° 56′ 53″ |
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 →