The sky around Sh2-126 at true scale, north up and east left, with stars to magnitude 8. The circles show the field of a low-power eyepiece and of 10×50 binoculars.
Sh2-126 is an emission nebula (H II region) in Lacerta
Sh2-126 (LBN 428) is an emission nebula (H II region) in the constellation Lacerta. It is a telescope object, 6 inches or larger, and it is highest in the evening sky in October.
Nebula: a cloud of gas and dust. Emission nebulae glow on their own, lit by ultraviolet light from hot young stars; reflection nebulae shine by starlight scattered from dust; dark nebulae block the light behind them.
Sh2-126 is Sh2-126 in the Sharpless catalog
Stewart Sharpless listed it in his catalog of H II regions (1959), drawn from the red and blue prints of the Palomar Sky Survey. He rated each region's brightness on a scale of 1 to 3; Sh2-126 is medium (class 2 of 3). It is also listed as LBN 428.
Finding Sh2-126 from Matar
Sh2-126 lies 10.6° north of Matar, the magnitude 2.9 star. A fist held at arm's length covers about 10°.
Sh2-126 is highest in the evening in October
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 49°S, and never sets north of 49°N.
The distance to Sh2-126 is not well measured
Objects within 6° of Sh2-126
No other object on Go Astronomy's catalog pages lies within 6°.
