California Nebula


The California Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. Its name comes from its resemblance to the outline of the U.S. State of California in long exposure photographs.
By coincidence, the California Nebula transits in the zenith in central California as the latitude matches the declination of the object.

Observation

NGC 1499 is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely difficult to observe visually. It can be observed with a Hα filter or Hβ filter in a rich-field telescope under dark skies. It lies at a distance of about 1,000 light years from Earth. Its fluorescence is due to excitation of the Hβ line in the nebula by the nearby prodigiously energetic O7 star, Xi Persei.

Discovery

The California Nebula was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1884.