The sky around Fishhook Nebula 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.
Fishhook Nebula is an emission nebula (H II region) in Taurus
Fishhook Nebula (Sh2-245, Eridanus Loop, LBN 839) is an emission nebula (H II region) in the constellation Taurus. It is a telescope object, 6 inches or larger, and it is highest in the evening sky in January.
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.
Fishhook Nebula is Sh2-245 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; Sh2-245 is medium (class 2 of 3). It is also listed as LBN 839.
Finding Fishhook Nebula from Bibing
Fishhook Nebula lies 9.3° south of Bibing, the magnitude 3.4 star. A fist held at arm's length covers about 10°.
Fishhook Nebula 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 87°S.
The distance to Fishhook Nebula is not well measured
Objects within 6° of Fishhook Nebula
No other object on Go Astronomy's catalog pages lies within 6°.
