Menu

Messier 76 — Planetary Nebula in Perseus

NGC 651

Planetary Nebula Fair (23/100)
Magnitude 12.0m PlanetaryNebula Perseus (Per) Visible
Star Map
+ List + Plan Star Hop

Observe

1Properties

Magnitude 12.0
vB, f of Dneb; = M76

Position & Identifiers

RA 01h 42m 19.7s
Dec +51° 34' 31.8"
Constellation Perseus (Per)
Catalog NGC 651

2How easy to spot?

Sign in and configure your equipment and default location to see a personalized row.
Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. Imp. Imp. Imp.
150mm Newt. V. hard+ V. hard Imp.
C8 203mm Hard V. hard+ V. hard
Easy Medium Hard Very hard Impossible

Bortle 3 = rural · 4 = outer suburbs · 5 = suburbs

With O-III filter

Telescope Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5
80mm refr. V. hard Imp. Imp.
150mm Newt. Hard+ Hard V. hard+
C8 203mm Hard+ Hard+ Hard
Medium on Seestar S50

3Visibility

Set a location in User Settings to see visibility data.

Best season Sep – Nov (peak: Oct)

Nearby in the Sky

Other targets within a few degrees — pan your scope a little and keep exploring.

Visibility scores assume a 150 mm Newton at Bortle 4.

M76
Little Dumbbell Nebula
Hard+
Planetary nebula — try an OIII filter
Planetary Nebula mag 10.1 0.0° Perseus
1 Per
Hard+
Eclipsing binary, period 25.9d
Variable Star mag 5.52 3.9° Perseus
NGC 744
Easy
Open cluster
Open Cluster mag 7.9 4.6° Perseus
Show on Map

Explore Nightbase

Related knowledge, tools, and stories — no observation planning required.

William Parsons
Built the Leviathan of Parsonstown; first to resolve spiral structure of nebulae
Biography
Perseus
Mythology, bright stars, and deep-sky highlights.
Constellation
The Life of Stars
From birth in a nebula to spectacular death — how stars are born, shine, swell, and die, and how to read the clues in their starlight.
Article
}