History

This nebula was discovered on 18 February 1893 by French astronomer Stephane Javelle using the 30-inch f/23 refractor «Grande Lunette» at Nice Observatory. He listed it as J 2-616. Dreyer added it as IC 466 to his first «Index Catalogue of Nebulae» published in 1895. His description reads: «Stars 11.5 mag in very faint nebulosity.» ^{[277, 314]}

In 1946 Swedish astronomer Sven Cederblad published his «Studies of bright diffuse galactic nebulae with special regard to their spatial distribution» and included IC 466 as Cederblad 92. ^[402]

In 1947 the German-American astronomer Rudolph Minkowski listed IC 466 with the designation M 2-63 as a diffuse emission nebula. ^[454]

In 1959 the American astronomer Stewart Sharpless published his «Catalogue of H II Regions» where he listed this nebula as Sh 2-288 a bright nebula of irregular form with 1 arcminute in diameter. ^[310]

In 1965 the American astronomer Beverly Lynds published her «Catalogue of Bright Nebulae» and listed this nebula as number LBN 1013 or referred by the galactic coordinates as LBN 218.66+01.84. ^[270]

Physical Properties

Finder Chart

The nebula IC 466 is located in the constellation Monoceros. The best season for observation is from October until March.