| Nebula | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Observation data: J2000epoch | |
| Right ascension | 14h 04m 28s |
| Declination | +54° 23’ 48” |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.54 |
| See also:Lists of nebulae | |
NGC 5471 is anemission nebula (HII region) located inMessier 101 (the Pinwheel Galaxy)[1] towards theconstellation Ursa Major. Eight other regions of Messier 101 are listed in the New General Catalogue, namelyNGC 5447,NGC 5449,NGC 5450,NGC 5451,NGC 5453,NGC 5458,NGC 5461 andNGC 5462.[2] Three of these regions were discovered byWilliam Herschel (NGC 5447, NGC 5461 and NGC 5462) and the other six byBindon Stoney.[2]
NGC 5471 is however, unlike the nine other regions discovered by Herschel and Stoney, located on the outskirts of M101 and it was later discovered by d'Arrest in 1863. Furthermore, there is no agreement on its nature. For the Simbad database, it is a galaxy and for Professor Seligman, it is a cloud of stars.[1]The HyperLeda database indicates the PG rating for NGC 5471,[3] therefore part of the galaxy. As for the NASA/IPAC database, it is mentioned that it is an HII region, but further on it is indicated under the morphology section that it is aWolf-Rayet galaxy.[2]