IC 2177

---

title: "IC 2177" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["h-ii-regions", "ic-objects", "star-forming-regions", "monoceros"] description: "Region of nebulosity in Monoceros constellation" topic_path: "general/h-ii-regions" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IC_2177" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Region of nebulosity in Monoceros constellation ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox nebula"]

Field	Value
name	IC 2177
image	Seagull Nebula.jpg
caption	Detailed view of IC 2177 produced by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope.
credit	ESO
type	H II region
epoch	J2000
ra
dec
dist_ly	3650
dist_pc	1,120
appmag_v	15.23
constellation	Monoceros
names	GUM 1, IC 2177, Sh2-292
::

| name = IC 2177 | image = Seagull Nebula.jpg | caption = Detailed view of IC 2177 produced by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope. | credit = ESO | type = H II region | epoch = J2000 | ra = | dec = | dist_ly = 3650 | dist_pc = 1,120 | appmag_v = 15.23 | size_v = | constellation = Monoceros | radius_ly = | absmag_v = | notes = | names = GUM 1, IC 2177, Sh2-292

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/IC2177Location.png" caption="The location of IC 2177 (circled in red)"] ::

IC 2177 is a region of nebulosity that lies along the border between the constellations Monoceros and Canis Major. It is a roughly circular H II region centered on the Be star HD 53367. This nebula was discovered by Welsh amateur astronomer Isaac Roberts and was described by him as "pretty bright, extremely large, irregularly round, very diffuse."

The name Seagull Nebula is sometimes applied by amateur astronomers to this emission region, although it more properly includes the neighboring regions of star clusters, dust clouds and reflection nebulae. This latter region includes the open clusters NGC 2335 and NGC 2343.

IC 2177 is also known as the Seagull's Head, due to its larger presence in the Seagull nebula. The nebula Gum 2, also known as Sh 2-296, forms the Seagull's wings.

Gallery

File:The Rosy Glow of a Cosmic Seagull.jpg|Seagull Nebula taken by VST OmegaCAM. File:Seagull nebula Nov 14.jpg|Amateur image of the Seagull Nebula, taken with 100mm refractor File:Seagull nebula - IC 2177.jpg|Amateur image of the Seagull Nebula, from an 11" telescope File:The Seagull Nebula, IC 2177 March 2021.jpg|Amateur image of the Seagull Nebula, taken with the Stellarvue SV102 Access refractor

References

References

1. "The Rich Colours of a Cosmic Seagull". ESO Press Release.
2. "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database".
3. http://galaxymap.org/cat/view/gum/2
4. "Anatomy of a Cosmic Seagull - ESO's VST captures a celestial gull in flight".
5. "IC 2177 -- HII (ionized) region". [[Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg]].
6. Gregorio-Hetem, J.. (December 2008). "Handbook of Star Forming Regions".
7. O'Meara, Stephen James. (2007). "Hidden treasures". [[Cambridge University Press]].
8. Ogura, Katsuo. (March 2006). "Star formation associated with H II regions". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India.
9. Monks, Neale. (2010). "Go-To Telescopes Under Suburban Skies". Springer.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::