Blue Flash of the Dolphin

NGC 6905, Planetary nebula in Delphinus
Sketch and Details by Michael Vlasov

blue flash sketch.jpg
Object Name: NGC 6905 – blue flash nebula
Object Type planetary nebula
Location Negev Desert, Israel
Date 29/8/2008

NGC 6905 is a tiny 12m planetary nebula in Delphinus, named a “Blue Flash Nebula” (probably due to it’s blueish color) and it lies 4700 light years from us.
The nebula resembles a little stellar coffee grain, hidden between the stars. It can be quite a challenge to find, unless moderate aperture and dark skies are avaliable. However, especially at high powers, the look is quite rewarding.
Observation and sketch details: The observation took place in Negev desert (Israel), at a local starparty. Sky conditions were excellent (~6.5m stars could be observed). The sketch was made using 8″ Orion equatorial Newtonian, at 250x power, Graphite pencil and a red light. Then the sketch was scanned and inverted in Photoshop.

Michael Vlasov