| Description | This is a large, reasonably bright, and interesting emission nebula, similar in character to the Soul Nebula. It's located just a little above Betelgeuse. I'm surprised it's so obscure. Perhaps because, among major catalogs, it's listed only in Sharpless. As well, when it's visible, it's facing competition from some of the most famous DSO objects there are. Still, I chanced on this looking for a good 600mm target, and being a little higher than the rest of Orion, I could start it earlier. The name "Lower's Nebula" comes from by the father-and-son team of Harold and Charles Lower in who discovered the object on a photographic plate they made in 1939. The Lowers were amateur astronomers, accomplished telescope makers, and pioneering astrophotographers from San Diego, California. |
