The sky around NGC 1514 at true scale, north up and east left, with stars to magnitude 8 and the NGC and IC objects in the field. The circles show the field of a low-power eyepiece and of 10×50 binoculars.
NGC 1514 is a planetary nebula in Taurus, 1,480 light-years away
NGC 1514 (PN G165.5-15.2) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Taurus, 1,480 light-years away. It shines at magnitude 10.1 and spans 2.2′ of sky, about 0.9 light-years across. It is a telescope object, 6 inches or larger, and it is highest in the evening sky in January.
Planetary nebula: a shell of gas thrown off by a dying Sun-like star and lit by the hot core left behind, which becomes a white dwarf. The name comes from their small, round, planet-like look in early telescopes.
Finding NGC 1514 from ζ Per
NGC 1514 lies 3.4° east of ζ Per, the magnitude 2.8 star. Three fingers held at arm's length cover about 5°.
NGC 1514 is highest in the evening in January
The chart gives its height above the horizon at 9 pm through the year, from 60°N to 40°S. It can be seen from the whole northern hemisphere and south to about 59°S, and never sets north of 59°N.
NGC 1514 is 1,480 light-years away
The light seen from NGC 1514 tonight left it about 1,480 years ago, around 546 AD. Distance source: Gaia central-star parallax via OpenNGC (2.203 mas, 454 pc).
Objects within 6° of NGC 1514
9 NGC and IC objects lie within 6°. The nearest that are brighter than magnitude 12.5 or have their own page:
