IC 2872

Image gallery

History and Accurate Positions for the NGC/IC Objects (Corwin 2004)

IC 2872 is the brightest part of a large (18 arcmin by 16 arcmin) diffuse nebula. The IC object itself has two or three bright lobes, perhaps defined (as in the Trifid Nebula) by dust lanes. The positions I give in the table are eyeball means for the two and three brightest lobes, while that that Andris measured for ESO-B is probably for just one of the lobes. Frost's description "bM, neb. ext. 2' in R.A. and 5'.0 in Dec" matches the two western lobes almost perfectly. His position (given only a tenth of a minute of time and an arcminute in Dec) is a little east of that, but still within his usual error.

Most of the fainter part of the nebula extends on to the northeast from the IC object itself.

Historical observations

NGC/IC Dreyer (1888, 1895, 1908)

This nebula was discovered photographically by R.H. Frost on plates taken with the 24-inch Bruce refractor at the Arequipa station of Harvard Observatory. It is described in the NGC as "very large, much elongated, brighter in the middle."

Published comments

Cederblad, S. (1946) [VII/231]

Ced 115 (IC 2872)

Position (1900): RA 11 23.9, Dec - 62 26

Star: ?

Spectrum of nebula: (not classified)

Classification: Nebulae without definite relation to certain stars - Detached nebula with discernible structure (eg. NGC 6992)

Size: 5'x2'

Notes: "IC 2872. Disc. Frost 1908 (852). R. Not identified."

Hoffleit, D. (1953)

1953AnHar.119...37H

A Preliminary Survey of Nebulosities and Associated B-Stars in Carina.

p43.

Burnham's Celestial Handbook

Burnham calls is a pretty large, faint nebulosity, 2' x 2' and brighter in the middle.

Gum, C.S. (1955)

Gum, C.S. (1955) A survey of southern HII regions. Mem.RAS, 67. [1955MmRAS..67..155G]

A Survey of Southern H II Regions published in the RAS Memoirs, Vol. LXVII, lists this object as Gum 40. He gives the size as 12' x 4' and the intensity, or "visibility in the particular section of the Milky Way in which the object occurs" is rated as "faint" on a scale of vf - f - mb - b - vb. He notes that it may be associated with the 9.3 mag B8 star HD 99898, and adds that it corresponds to No. 115 in Sven Cederblad's 1946 catalogue. In his Notes to the catalogue he says: "This fragment may be associated with Gum 39."

Rodgers, Campbell & Whiteoak (1960)

In the catalogue of southern emission regions by Rodgers, Campbell and Whiteoak (1960), they compare their RCW 60 with IC 2872 and both Gum 39 and Gum 40. They described a large nebula, 50' x 50', centred at 11h 26.5m 32 30' (1950.0). They note that it is an outlying part of the Lambda Centauri nebula, which contains two bright regions: one at 11h 28.8m -62 37' (2000.0) which measures 21' x 18', (most probably Gum 39) and a second at 11h 28.8m -62 58' (2000.0) which measures 15' x 10' (most likely Gum 40, IC 2872). Gum 39, according to the author, appears as "half a disk. HD 99897 [8.6 mag B5] although towards the edge of the nebula would be at the centre of the disk if it were completed. The spectrum is B5 but deserves reclassification."

Photo index

by Jim Lucyk: Vehrenberg's Atlas of DS Splendors (3ed) p111.

Modern observations

Brian Skiff

QBS: lg, only core seen by 15cm.

15cm - vsm sm refl neb NE side of m12.5 *. sl enhanced by DS filter, worse with

others. 1' diam, pretty f. BS, 23Feb1990, LCO.