Discovery of Cone Nebula by William Herschel

The word nebula means ‘cloud’ in Latin. The Cone Nebula is an H II region in the constellation of Monoceros. It was discovered by a British astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822) on December 26, 1785. At which time he designed it H V.27.

Herschel’s telescope was not very strong. It did not enlarge images the way powerful modern telescopes do. All Herschel could see was that the nebulas looked round, like planets.

The nebula is located about 800 parsecs or 2,600 light years away from earth. The Cone Nebula forms part of the nebulosity surrounding the Christmas Tree Cluster. The nebula is typical of its dark, silhouetted class in that it is virtually impossible to detect visually.
Discovery of Cone Nebula by William Herschel