Galactic Nebula IC 2162

IC 2162
IC 2162: H-II region in Orion (Sh 2-254 ... Sh 2-258); TS 115mm f/7 refractor, ASI 2600 MC Pro, Optolong L-Ultimate; 2h; Oberbaselbiet; © 2025-02-05 Jörg Studer

History

The nebula IC 2162 was discovered visually by Edward E. Barnard on 30 November 1888 with the 12-inch refractor at Lick Observatory. He first logged in his notebook «Found a very difficult nebula close f and involving a 10m star.» He added the comments «very faint nebulosity, pretty large, roundish, densest part following the 10m star.» Barnard notified Dreyer directly of the discovery. [364]

In 1946 the German-American astronomer Rudolph Minkowski has identified IC 2162 as emission nebula Min 2-61 and noted: «IC 2162 and the similar (but fainter) nebula which preced it are probably the brightest parts of one very faint and large nebulosity.» [454] In the same year the Swedish astronomer Sven Cederblad published a study of bright diffuse galactic nebulae where he listed IC 2162 as Cederblad 72. [130] In the early 1950s the Russian astronomers Grigory Abramovich Shajn and Vera Fedorovna Gaze at the Simeis Observatory on the Crimean Peninsula listed these nebulae as Simeis 35, 36, and 37. [402] In 1959 American astronomer Stewart Sharpless published his second catalogue of 313 H-II regions and listed there these nebulae as Sh 2-254 ... Sh 2-258. [310] In 1965 Beverly T. Lynds published her «Catalogue of Bright Nebulae» that she found on photo plates of the same sky survey. She listed these nebulae with the entries: LBN 858 and LBN 859. [270]

Physical Properties

Data from Simbad [145]
Name Type RA
(J2000.0)
Dec
(J2000.0)
Size
[']
Identifiers
Sh 2-254 HII 06h 11m 59s +18° 03' 18" 4P 1; GRS G192.51 -00.15; IRAS 06095+1800; LBN 192.48-00.21; LBN 858; SH 2-254; [TP72] 39
IC 2162 HII 06h 13m 04s +17° 58' 44" 3 × 3 4P 2; GAL 192.60-00.05; GRS G192.63 -00.02; IC 2162; LBN 192.63-00.02; LBN 859; Min 2-61; SH 2-255; [T70] 15; [TP72] 40
Sh 2-256 HII 06h 12m 36s +17° 56' 54" 4P 3; GRS G192.60 -00.13; IRAS 06096+1757; SH 2-256
Sh 2-257 HII 06h 12m 44s +17° 59' 33" 2.28 × 2.35 4P 4; GRS G192.58 -00.08; RAFGL 896; SH 2-257; WB89 774; [ABB2014] WISE G192.578-00.083
Sh 2-258 HII 06h 13m 28s +17° 55' 30" 4P 5; GRS G192.74 -00.04; PP 57; SH 2-258

Finder Chart

The H-II region IC 2162 (Sh 2-254 ... Sh 2-258) is located in the constellation Orion. It is best observed in the months of September to March.

Finder Chart Galactic Nebula IC 2162
Galactic Nebula IC 2162 in constellation Orion. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

Objects Within a Radius of 10°

References