The Sharpless catalog is a list of 313 HII regions (emission nebulae), intended to be comprehensive north of declination -27°. (It does include some nebulae south of that declination as well.) There was a first and final version was published by US astronomer Stewart Sharpless in 1959. Abbreviations for Sharpless objects include, for example using 123, would be Sharpless 123, Sh 2-123 (for second one), or Sh 123.
The 313 items in the Sharpless overlap with objects from many other catalogs including the 110 Messier objects (M), 7,840 objects in the New General Catalogue (NGC), Caldwell catalogue (109 items), and the Herschel 400 Catalogue.
Currently limited to examples of second Sharpless (1958 version) catalog; click on image for image credit, most of which are either various amateur astronomers, the ESO, ESA, or NASA
| Sh 2- # | A common name | Images | Names & Designations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | NGC 6334 |  |
ESO 392-EN 009, Sharpless 8, RCW 127, Gum 64, NGC 6334 |
| 25 | Lagoon Nebula |  |
Sh2 25, RCW 146, Gum 72 |
| 30 | Trifid Nebula |  |
Sh2 30, M20, NGC 6514, RCW 147, Gum 76 |
| 45 | Omega Nebula |  |
Omega Nebula, M17, NGC 6618, Swan Nebula, Sharpless 45, RCW 160, Gum 81 |
| 49 | Eagle Nebula |  |
Sh2 49, Messier 16, NGC 6611, RCW 165, Gum 83 |
| 101 | Tulip Nebula | Datei:TulipHunterWilson.jpg | Sharpless 101 |
| 105 | Crescent Nebula |  |
Sh2 105, NGC 6888, Sharpless 105, Caldwell 27 |
| 117 | North America Nebula | Datei:North American Nebula Lanoue.png | NGC 7000, Caldwell 20 |
| 158 | NGC 7538 | - | NGC 7538, Bubble Nebula, Dreyer's Object, Sharpless 158 |
| 184 | NGC 281 |  |
NGC 281, IC 11 |
| 220 | California Nebula |  |
NGC 1499, Sharpless 220 |
| 238 | NGC 1555 | Datei:T Tauri - A Star is Formed.jpg | NGC 1555, Hind's Nebula, Sharpless 238 |
| 244 | Crab Nebula |  |
Messier 1, NGC 1952, |
| 271 | Flame Nebula | Datei:Ngc2024 med.jpg | Sh-271, NGC 2024 |
| 281 | Orion Nebula |  |
M42, NGC 1976, LBN 974 |
