Lower's Nebula (Sh 2-261)
History
This nebula was discovered in 1939 by H. A. Lower using an 8-inch f/1 Schmidt camera with Agfa Superpan Press film and exposure time of 20 minutes. Hence the nickname Lower's Nebula. [710]
Same nebula appeared also in other catalogues: In 1946 the Swedish astronomer Sven Cederblad published a study of bright diffuse galactic nebulae where he listed this nebula as Cederblad 64. [130] In 1950 German astronomer Wolfgang Strohmeier did a photographic survey of the winter Milky Way using a Schneider Xenone 1:2 lenses with 125 mm focal length. He listed this nebula as number 31 (Strohmeier 31) with a size of 10x8 arcminutes. [40] In the early 1950s the Russian astronomers Grigory Abramovich Shajn and Vera Fedorovna Gaze at the Simeis Observatory on the Crimean Peninsula listed this nebul as Simeis 34. [402] In 1959 American astronomer Stewart Sharpless published his second catalogue of 313 H-II regions and listed there this nebula as Sh 2-261. [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 this nebula with three entries: LBN 862, LBN 863 and LBN 864. [270]
Physical Properties
| Name | Type | RA (J2000.0) |
Dec (J2000.0) |
Size ['] |
Identifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sh 2-261 | HII | 06h 08m 44s | +15° 40' 30" | 4P 7; GAL 194.2-02.0; GRS G194.20 -02.00; LBN 194.10-01.93; LBN 863; NAME Lower's Nebula; SH 2-261; SIM 34; [LPH96] 194.070-1.846 | |
| LBN 862 | HII | 06h 09m 00s | +15° 48' 00" | LBN 194.05-01.91; LBN 862 | |
| LBN 864 | HII | 06h 08m 52s | +15° 42' 18" | 42.933334351 × 42.933334351 | LBN 194.20-01.99; LBN 864; [ABB2014] WISE G194.138-01.996 |
Finder Chart
The H-II region Sh 2-261 is located in the constellation Orion. It is best observed in the months of September to March.
