Sharpless catalog - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Sharpless catalog is a list of 312 HII regions (emission nebulae), intended to be comprehensive north of declination -27°. (It does include some nebulae south of that declination as well.) The first edition was publishing 1953 with 142 objects (Sh1) and second and final version was published by US astronomer Stewart Sharpless

Stewart Sharpless

Stewart Sharpless is an American astronomer who carried out fundamental work on the structure of the Milky Way galaxy.As a graduate student at Yerkes Observatory he worked under William Morgan with fellow graduate student Don Osterbrock...

in 1959 with 312 objects.

In 1953 Stewart Sharpless joined the staff of the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station

United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station

The United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station , is a scientific astronomical observatory operated as a Navy Echelon V command and the national dark-sky observing Facility/observatory subordinate to the United States Naval Observatory . USNO and NOFS are commands within the CNMOC claimancy,...

, where he surveyed and cataloged H II region

H II region

An H II region is a large, low-density cloud of partially ionized gas in which star formation has recently taken place. The short-lived, blue stars forged in these regions emit copious amounts of ultraviolet light, ionizing the surrounding gas...

s of the Milky Way Galaxy using the images from the Palomar Sky Survey. From this work Sharpless published his catalog of H II regions in two editions, the first in 1953 with 142 nebula. The second and final edition was published in 1959 with 313 nebulae.

The 312 items in the Sharpless overlap with objects from many other catalogs including the 110 Messier objects (M), 7,840 objects in the New General Catalogue

New General Catalogue

The New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars is a well-known catalogue of deep sky objects in astronomy. It contains 7,840 objects, known as the NGC objects...

(NGC), Caldwell catalogue

Caldwell catalogue

The Caldwell Catalogue is an astronomical catalog of 109 bright star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, better known as Patrick Moore, as a complement to the Messier Catalogue.The Messier Catalogue is used...

(which itself is a "best of" from other catalogues, with 109 items), and the RCW catalog. Abbreviations for Sharpless objects include, for example using 123, would be Sharpless 123, or Sh2-123, Sh 2-123 (for second one).

Examples

Examples of second Sharpless (1958 version) catalog; click on image for image credit, most of which are either various amateur astronomers, the ESO, ESA, or NASA

Sh 2- #	A common name	Images	Names & Designations
6	NGC 6302 NGC 6302 NGC 6302 is a bipolar planetary nebula in the constellation Scorpius. The structure in the nebula is among the most complex ever observed in planetary nebulae...		Sh2-6, NGC 6302, Bug Nebula, PK 349+01 1, Butterfly Nebula, RCW RCW Catalogue The RCW Catalogue is an Astronomical catalogue of Hα-emission regions in the southern Milky Way, described in . It has 180 objects and includes many of the earlier Gum Catalog objects, and the later Caldwell catalogue included some RCW... 124, Gum Gum catalog The Gum catalog is an astronomical catalog of 84 emission nebulae in the southern sky. It was made by the Australian astronomer Colin Stanley Gum at Mount Stromlo Observatory using wide field photography. Gum published his findings in 1955 in a study entitled A study of diffuse southern H-alpha... 60, Caldwell Caldwell catalogue The Caldwell Catalogue is an astronomical catalog of 109 bright star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies for observation by amateur astronomers. The list was compiled by Sir Patrick Caldwell-Moore, better known as Patrick Moore, as a complement to the Messier Catalogue.The Messier Catalogue is used... 69
8	NGC 6334 NGC 6334 NGC 6334 is an emission nebula located in the constellation Scorpius. It was discovered by astronomer John Herschel in 1837, who observed it from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-External links:* — ESO Photo Release*Astronomy Picture of the Day - 2010 April 21...		ESO 392-EN 009, Sharpless 8, RCW 127, Gum 64, NGC 6334
11	NGC 6357 NGC 6357 NGC 6357 is a diffuse nebula near NGC 6334 in the constellation Scorpius. This nebula was given the name War and Peace Nebula by the Midcourse Space Experiment scientists because of its appearance. They said that in infrared images the bright, western part resembles a dove, while the eastern part...		Sh2-11, NGC 6357, RCW 131, Gum 66, War and Peace Nebula
25	Lagoon Nebula Lagoon Nebula The Lagoon Nebula is a giant interstellar cloud in the constellation Sagittarius. It is classified as an emission nebula and as an H II region....		Sh2 25, RCW 146, Gum 72, Messier 8
30	Trifid Nebula Trifid Nebula The Trifid Nebula is an H II region located in Sagittarius. Its name means 'divided into three lobes'...		Sh2 30, M20, NGC 6514, RCW 147, Gum 76
45	Omega Nebula Omega Nebula The Omega Nebula, also known as the Swan Nebula, Checkmark Nebula, Lobster Nebula, and the Horseshoe Nebula is an H II region in the constellation Sagittarius. It was discovered by Philippe Loys de Chéseaux in 1745. Charles Messier catalogued it in 1764...		Omega Nebula, M17, NGC 6618, Swan Nebula, Sharpless 45, RCW 160, Gum 81
49	Eagle Nebula Eagle Nebula The Eagle Nebula is a young open cluster of stars in the constellation Serpens, discovered by Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux in 1745-46. Its name derives from its shape which is resemblant of an eagle...		Sh2 49, Messier 16, NGC 6611, RCW 165, Gum 83
101	Tulip Nebula Tulip Nebula The Tulip Nebula, or Sharpless 101 or the Cygnus Star Cloud is an emission nebula located in the constellation Cygnus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of a tulip when imaged photographically. It was catalogued by astronomer Stewart Sharpless in his 1959 catalog of nebulae...		Sharpless 101
105	Crescent Nebula Crescent Nebula The Crescent Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, about 5000 light years away. It is formed by the fast stellar wind from the Wolf-Rayet star WR 136 colliding with and energizing the slower moving wind ejected by the star when it became a red giant around 400,000 years ago...		Sh2 105, NGC 6888, Sharpless 105, Caldwell 27
117	North America Nebula North America Nebula The North America Nebula is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb . The remarkable shape of the emission nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico...		NGC 7000, Caldwell 20
125	Cocoon Nebula		IC 5146, Caldwell 19
140	Sh2-140		Sh2-140
155	Cave Nebula Cave Nebula The Cave Nebula, Sh2-155 or Caldwell 9, is a dim and very diffuse bright nebula within a larger nebula complex containing emission, reflection, and dark nebulosity. It is located in the constellation Cepheus....		Sh2-155, Caldwell 9
162	NGC 7635 NGC 7635 NGC 7635, also called the Bubble Nebula, Sharpless 162, or Caldwell 11, is a H II region emission nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. It lies close to the direction of the open cluster Messier 52. The "bubble" is created by the stellar wind from a massive hot, 8.7 magnitude young central...		Sh2-162, NGC 7635, Bubble nebula
184	NGC 281 NGC 281 NGC 281 is an H II region in the constellation of Cassiopeia and part of the Perseus Spiral Arm. It includes the open cluster IC 1590, the multiple star HD 5005, and several Bok globules. Colloquially, NGC 281 is also known as the Pacman Nebula for its resemblance to the video game character.The...		NGC 281, IC 11
191	Maffei 1 Maffei 1 Maffei 1 is a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Cassiopeia. It is the closest giant elliptical galaxy to the Milky Way. Once believed to be a member of the Local Group, it is now known to belong to the IC 342/Maffei Group...		Sh2-191, Maffei 1, PGC 9892
197	Maffei 2 Maffei 2 Maffei 2 is an intermediate spiral galaxy about 10 million light-years away in the constellation Cassiopeia. Maffei 2 and Maffei 1 were both discovered by Paolo Maffei in 1968 from their infrared emission. Maffei 2 lies in the Zone of Avoidance and is about 99.5% obscured by the Milky Way's...		Sh2-197, Maffei 2, UGCA 39,PGC Principal Galaxies Catalogue The Catalogue of Principal Galaxies is an astronomical catalogue published in 1989 that lists B1950 and J2000 equatorial coordinates and cross-identifications for 73,197 galaxies. 40,932 coordinates have standard deviations smaller than 10″. A total of 131,601 names from the 38 most... 10217,
199	Soul Nebula Soul Nebula Soul Nebula is emission nebulae in Cassiopeia. Several small open clusters are embedded in the nebula: CR 34, 632, and 634 and IC1848...		Sh2-199, LBN Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae is an Astronomical catalogue of bright Nebulae.Objects listed in the catalogue are numbered with the prefix LBN , though, many entries also have other designations, for example, LBN 974, the Orion Nebula is also known as M42 and NGC 1976.Originally compiled in the... 667, Soul Nebula, IC 1848 (cluster only)
220	California Nebula California Nebula The California Nebula is an emission nebula located in the constellation Perseus. It is so named because it appears to resemble the outline of the US State of California on long exposure photographs. It is almost 2.5° long on the sky and, because of its very low surface brightness, it is extremely...		NGC 1499, Sharpless 220
229	IC 405 IC 405 IC 405 is an emission/reflection nebula in the constellation Auriga, surrounding the bluish star AE Aurigae. It shines at magnitude +6.0. Its celestial coordinates are RA dec...		Flaming Star Nebula, Caldwell 31, IC 405, Sh2-229
238	NGC 1555 NGC 1555 NGC 1555, sometimes known as Hind's Variable Nebula, is a variable nebula, illuminated by the star T Tauri, located in the constellation Taurus. It is also in the second Sharpless catalog as 238. It is a Herbig–Haro object. -External links:*...		NGC 1555, Hind's Nebula, Sharpless 238
244	Crab Nebula Crab Nebula The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus...		Messier 1, NGC 1952,
248	IC 443 IC 443 IC 443 is a Galactic supernova remnant in the constellation Gemini. On the plan of the sky, it is located near the star Eta Geminorum....		IC 443, Sh2-248, Jellyfish Nebula
271	Flame Nebula Flame Nebula The Flame Nebula, designated as NGC 2024 and Sh2-277, is an emission nebula in the constellation Orion. It is about 900 to 1,500 light-years away....		Sh2-271, NGC 2024
275	Rosette Nebula Rosette Nebula The Rosette Nebula is a large, circular H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy...		Sh2-275, CTB 21
276	Barnard's Loop Barnard's Loop Barnard's Loop is an emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is part of a Orion Molecular Cloud Complex which also contains the bright Horsehead and Orion nebulae. The loop takes the form of a large arc centred approximately on the Orion Nebula...		Sh2-276, Barnard's Loop
281	Orion Nebula Orion Nebula The Orion Nebula is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orion's Belt. It is one of the brightest nebulae, and is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. M42 is located at a distance of and is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth. The M42 nebula is estimated to be 24 light...		M42, NGC 1976, LBN 974
298	NGC 2359 NGC 2359 NGC 2359 is an emission nebula in the constellation Canis Major. The nebula is approximately 15,000 light-years away and 30 light years in size. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution...		Thor's Helmet, Gum 4, Sharpless 298, NGC 2359