Category: planetary

The Blue Snowball

The Blue Snowball

NGC 7662, The “Blue Snowball”
Sketch and Details by Jeremy Perez

Observation Notes:

The ‘Blue Snowball’ nebula didn’t disappoint, and shone with a subtle cyan-green color when I aimed the Dob at it. It was elongated roughly north-south and had an uneven appearance. The main shell was shaped like a soft, round-edged pentagon. The east side was brightest, while the northwest side opened up to allow a darker intrusion into the nebula’s core. This brighter shell appeared to be surrounded by a slim, subtle halo. Although I could not see the central star, another neighboring star paired itself with the snowball, about 1 arc minute to the northeast. The nebula itself appeared to be about 30 arc seconds in diameter.

Object Information:

NGC 7662 was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1784. It is also cataloged as: PK106-17.1, H IV-18, h 2241, GC 4964, PN G106.5-17.6

Subject NGC 7662
Classification* Planetary Nebula (4(3))
Position* Andromeda [RA: 23:25:53.93 / Dec: +42:32:06.1]
Size* 32″ x 28″
Brightness* 8.3 vMag (9.2 bMag)
Date/Time OCT 29, 2008 – 10:30 PM MST (OCT 30, 2008 – 5:30 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA – Home
Instrument Orion SkyQuest XT8 (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. 10 mm Sirius Plössl (120X) + 2X Barlow (240X)
Conditions Clear, calm
Seeing 5/10 Pickering
Transparency ~ Mag 6.5 NELM
*References NGCIC.org

Clown or Eskimo?

NGC 2392

The Clown Face Planetary Nebula NGC 2392
Sketch by Serge Vieillard, text by Frank McCabe

The Clown Face Planetary Nebula NGC 2392

Sketch by Serge Vieillard

The brightest planetary nebula in the constellation of Gemini is NGC 2392. You may call it the Clown Face or Eskimo Nebula but whatever designation you use this is an impressive sketch that shows the fine filaments visible across the face. Serge Vieillard used the 24 inch Cassegrain telescope in the French Alps at St. Veran Observatory to make this detailed close up sketch in October of 2008. Our perspective has us looking down the maw of this planetary that was measured to be about 1060 years old just a few years back. The central star is magnitude 10.5 and the nebula is visual magnitude 9.1. This planetary can be found at: R.A. 7hrs. 29min. 10.5 sec., Dec. +20° 54’ 42”

A Fall Treat: M-76

M76

Planetary Nebula, M76
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

From my usual backyard observing location in south suburban , the sky glow prevents one from seeing any hints of the Milky Way or even M-31 (the Andromeda galaxy) at culmination without optical aid. Planetary nebula M-76 looks small (2’x1’) and concentrated enough that it is a fairly easy object to locate visually. It responds well to O III and narrow band light pollution filters because like other planetary nebulae it emits radiation at 496 and 501 nanometer wavelengths due to +2 oxygen ions. The 16.6 magnitude central star is too faint to be seen from my location. This nebula is commonly called the little dumbbell or barbell nebula because of its appearance. William Herschel catalogued the two bright end parts under separate numbers. There is a NE-SW orientation to the brightest end parts. No hint of the outer arcs projecting from the corners was visible even with filters and high powered eyepieces. This planetary nebula is located in the constellation of Perseus at R.A. 1hr. 42.4min., Dec. 51°34’. We are looking at this nebula from the side on view. If the 3000-5000 l.y. distance is correct, then M-76 is more than 1.0 l.y. in diameter.

No matter where you are in the northern hemisphere, try hunting for this object with a 4.25 inch (108mm) telescope or larger, you my be surprised at the view.

Sketching:

9”x11” white sketching paper; 2H, HB graphite pencils, black ink pen and a blending stump;
Scanned and inverted; brightness of some stars adjusted with MS Paint.
Scope: 10” f/5.7 Dobsonian: 24 mm wide field eyepiece 60x and 12 mm eyepiece 121x
Date and Time: 11-1-2008, 5:15 – 6:10 UT
Seeing: 6/10
Transparency: Average 3/5
Clear, 90% humidity
Temperature 10°C
NELM: 4.2

The Fetus in Cygnus

NGC 7008

NGC 7008
Sketch and Details by Ferenc Lovró

NGC 7008 (planetary nebula)
Date/time: 2008.09.02 23:00 UT
Equipment: 12″ f/5 Newtonian
FOV: 12′ Mag: 250x
Seeing: 6/10 Transparency: 4/5

A very large planetary nebula in the Cygnus constellation, also known as the Fetus nebula. Its naming perfectly suits its look, which is very conspicuous. It’s an asymmetrical shell with widely varying brightness and an enormously shiny area to the NE. The central star is 13.2 magnitude, easily detectable because it is surrounded by dark areas. To the east, you may notice another star of the similar colour and luminosity. I cannot see any hint of colour throughout the planetary. It’s a nice object even at low powers of around 100x thanks to its relatively high surface brightness, therefore it may be a reachable target for small telescopes too. I’ve tried using my UHC filter, but the results were worse than without it.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

NGC 6826

NGC 6826
Sketch and details by Dale Holt

These day virtually all of my deep sky observing is undertaken from my observatory using my 14″ F5 Newtonian coupled with a Watec 120N video camera. I sketch the ‘virtual’ real time image from the black & white monitor display in my office attached to the observatory.
I use an HB pencil, eraser and blending stump on standard cartridge paper. I scan the image and reverse to a negative before storing as a J Peg.

For this drawing of the ‘Blinking Nebula’ NGC 6826 in Cygnus I used a Lumicon UHC filter in front of the camera.

Clear Skies, Dale

Nothing To Blink At

NGC 6826

The Blinking Planetary, NGC 6826
Sketch and Details by Jeremy Perez

NGC 6826, also known as the Blinking Planetary, was pleasantly bright when I tracked it down at low power. It exhaled a blue-green color at all levels of magnification. At 240X, it displayed a shelled structure with an outer shell that appeared circular while the inner shell was elongated at a PA of about 135 degrees. This inner shell was bright enough to make the central star appear to almost blend into it. I did not notice a blinking effect on the nebula, but detail was lost to direct vision. I estimated its diameter to be about 40 arc seconds. This estimate turned out to be fairly poor, as the actual diameter is 27 x 24 arc minutes. If you’re in the area enjoying M27 and M57, reward yourself a look at this beautiful planetary nebula too.

Object Information:

NGC 6826 was discovered by F.W. Herschel in 1793. High resolution photographs reveal an elliptical nebula with an eye-like appearance. Between the inner and outer shells, along the long axis, two red “FLIERS” can be seen. The cause of these structures is yet to be determined, but Hubble telescope images seem to indicate that these FLIERS are stationary while ejected stellar material flows past them–sculpting them in the process. NGC 6826 is also catalogued as PK83+12.1, H IV-73, h 2050, GC 4514.

Subject NGC 6826
Classification Planetary Nebula (3a(2))
Position Cygnus [RA: 19:44:48.17 / Dec: +50:31:30.4]*
Size* 27″ x 24″
Brightness* 8.8 vMag / 9.8 bMag (Central Star 10.4 mag.)
Date/Time August 13, 2007 – 01:30 AM MST (August 13, 2007 – 08:30 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, AZ – Home
Instrument Orion SVP 6LT Reflector (150 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. 10 mm Sirius Plössl + 2X Barlow (240X)
Conditions Mostly clear, calm
Seeing 4/10 Pickering
Transparency ~ Mag 5.8 NELM
*References NGC/IC Project, Bruce Balick, University of Washington