NGC 1333 is a
reflection nebula located in the northern
constellationPerseus, positioned next to the southern constellation border with
Taurus and
Aries. It was first discovered by German astronomer
Eduard Schönfeld in 1855. The nebula is visible as a hazy patch in a small telescope, while a larger aperture will show a pair of dark nebulae designated Barnard 1 and Barnard 2. It is associated with a dark cloud L1450 (Barnard 205). Estimates of the distance to this nebula range from 980–1,140 ly (300–350 pc).This nebula is in the western part of the
Perseus molecular cloud and is a young region of very active star formation, being one of the best-studied objects of its type. It contains a fairly typical hierarchy of
star clusters that are still embedded in the
molecular cloud in which they formed, which are split into two main sub-groups to the north and south. Most of the
infrared emission is happening in the southern part of the nebula. A significant portion of the stars seen in the infrared are in the
pre-main sequence stage of their
evolution.
It has an apparent magnitude of 5.6
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