Hind’s nebula (NGC 1555) was the first to behave in an extraordinary fashion.

The associated YSO was discovered by John Russell Hind in 1852 and would later be designated T Tauri. Hind also observed a faint nebula remarkably close to the variable, and much to his surprise, the nebula faded from view over the next few years. It was spotted occasionally but only at the end of the 19^th century was the nebula recovered, and then early in the 20^th century it became available again for modest telescopes. A detailed account of the Hind’s Variable nebula story can be found in Wolfgang Steinicke’s excellent book “Observing and Cataloguing Nebulae and Clusters” (Cambridge 2010).

Hind’s variable nebula is a reflection nebula illuminated by T Tauri. It has been known for a long time that the nebula shows changes in extent and brightness. It is believed that these changes are primarily caused by changes in the obscuring gas and dust clouds between T Tauri and the nebula. In recent years Hind’s nebula has displayed many changes, often over timescales of just days or weeks and it is fascinating to follow these.

Ongoing observations of this attractive nebula are encouraged, not least so that we can learn more about the different forms and timescales of the changes and whether, perhaps, they are cyclical.