Bow-Tie nebula
Scientific overview
Bow-Tie nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Cepheus. It shines at apparent magnitude 11.89 and spans about 0.8 arcminutes of sky.
Observation guide
Guidance follows standard observing practice, derived from the object's real magnitude and position. A dark, moonless sky always helps.
Location in the sky
Precision measurements
Distances and velocities from SIMBAD · NGC 40
| Distance | 5,812 ly | SIMBAD · catalogued |
| Physical size (major axis) | 1.352463 ly | SIMBAD · derived |
| Radial velocity | -20.5 ± 3.4 km/s | SIMBAD · measured |
| Right ascension (ICRS) | 3.254238 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
| Declination (ICRS) | 72.521954 deg | SIMBAD · measured |
Full field-level provenance
- Distance: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · mesDistance · dist · 2020yCat.1350....0G · distance indicator: paral · catalogued value · source value 1781.9 pc · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Physical size (major axis): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · derived (OpenNGC angular size × SIMBAD distance) · physical size = angular size × distance (small-angle); angular size from OpenNGC, distance from SIMBAD mesDistance · derived · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Radial velocity: Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · rvz_radvel · 2006AstL...32..759G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Right ascension (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · ra · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
- Declination (ICRS): Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS) · SIMBAD · basic · dec · 2020yCat.1350....0G · direct catalogue measurement · retrieved 2026-07-11
Physical size is derived from the OpenNGC angular size and the catalogued distance (small-angle: size = angle × distance). This is a Galactic object: its Doppler shift is shown as a radial velocity, not a cosmological redshift. Fields a source did not provide are omitted, never invented.
Other objects in Cepheus
| Object | Type | Mag | Size (′) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7160NGC 7160 | Open cluster | 6.1 | 4.2 |
| Iris NebulaC 4 · NGC 7023 | Nebula | 7.2 | 10 |
| NGC 7380NGC 7380 | Cluster with nebulosity | 7.2 | 25 |
| NGC 7234NGC 7234 | Open cluster | 7.7 | 2.4 |
| NGC 6939NGC 6939 | Open cluster | 7.8 | 12 |
| NGC 7510NGC 7510 | Open cluster | 7.9 | 3.9 |
| NGC 188C 1 · NGC 188 | Open cluster | 8.1 | 17.7 |
| NGC 7261NGC 7261 | Open cluster | 8.4 | 6.9 |
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- OpenNGCOpenNGC (M. Verga) — NGC/IC, Messier, and Caldwell catalogue data
Openly-licensed deep-sky catalogue: object types, positions, magnitudes, sizes, morphology, and cross-identifiers.