Back Messier 78 Afrikaans مسييه 78 Arabic Nebulosa M78 AST NGC 2068 Azerbaijani M78 (аб’ект Месье) Byelorussian M78 BE-X-OLD M78 Bulgarian मेसियर 78 Bihari মেসিয়ার ৭৮ Bengali/Bangla Messier 78 Breton
| Reflection nebula | |
|---|---|
 Image of Messier 78 captured using the Wide Field Imager camera on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory. | |
| Observation data: J2000.0 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 05h 46m 46.7s[1] |
| Declination | +00° 00′ 50″[1] |
| Distance | 1,350 ly (415 pc)[2] ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 8.3[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 8′ × 6′[3] |
| Constellation | Orion |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 5 ly |
| Notable features | Part of the Orion complex |
| Designations | Ced 55u, DG 80, IRAS 05442-0000, [KPS2012] MWSC 0664, NGC 2068[1] |
Messier 78 or M78, also known as NGC 2068, is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.[4]
M78 is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula of a group of nebulae that includes NGC 2064, NGC 2067 and NGC 2071. This group belongs to the Orion B molecular cloud complex and is about 1,350 light-years distant from Earth.[2] M78 is easily found in small telescopes as a hazy patch and involves two stars of 10th and 11th magnitude. These two B-type stars, HD 38563 A and HD 38563 B, are responsible for making the cloud of dust in M78 visible by reflecting their light.[5]
The M78 cloud contains a cluster of stars that is visible in the infrared.[2] Due to gravity, the molecular gas in the nebula has fragmented into a hierarchy of clumps,[2] whose cores have masses ranging from 0.3 M☉ to 5 M☉.[6] About 45 variable stars of the T Tauri type,[7] young stars still in the process of formation, are members as well. Similarly, 17 Herbig–Haro objects are known in M78.[8]
On May 23, 2024, the European Space Agency released an initial set of images from their Euclid mission. This included an unprecedented image of the region including M78.[9] It showed hundreds of thousands of new objects including sub-stellar sized ones for the first time.
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Smith2013was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Messier 78". SEDS Messier Catalog. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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Zhao1999was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Euclid's new image of star-forming region Messier 78". The European Space Agency. ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.