Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Ophiuchus (Oph)  ·  Contains:  Box nebula  ·  NGC 6309  ·  PK009+14.1
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NGC 6309, 



    
        

            Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 6309

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
NGC 6309, 



    
        

            Gary Imm
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 6309

Acquisition details

Dates:
Sept. 7, 2017 ·  Sept. 9, 2017
Frames:
Astrodon Gen2 I-Series Tru-Balance Blue: 30×60(30′) (gain: 139.00) -15°C bin 1×1
Astrodon Gen2 I-Series Tru-Balance Green: 30×60(30′) (gain: 139.00) -15°C bin 1×1
Astrodon Gen2 I-Series Tru-Balance Red: 30×60(30′) (gain: 139.00) -15°C bin 1×1
Astrodon H-alpha 5nm: 48×300(4h) (gain: 139.00) -15°C bin 1×1
Astrodon OIII 3nm: 48×300(4h) (gain: 139.00) -15°C bin 1×1
Integration:
9h 30′
Avg. Moon age:
17.05 days
Avg. Moon phase:
93.14%

RA center: 17h14m04s.344

DEC center: -12°5437.20

Pixel scale: 0.219 arcsec/pixel

Orientation: 83.488 degrees

Field radius: 0.167 degrees

More info:Open 

Resolution: 4800x2700

File size: 2.3 MB

Locations: Backyard (Mag 20.8 - Bortle 4.5), Onalaska, Texas, United States

Data source: Backyard

Description

At a size of less than a minute, this planetary nebula is a tough object to image. It is located about 7000 light years away in the southern constellation of Ophiuchus. It is classified as a quadrupolar planetary nebula but I could not see evidence of multipolar structure in this image, nor could I see the central star, nor much of a resemblance to a "box". What is visible, though, are two distinct curved arms extending out in a similar pattern to galaxy arms. Unlike galaxy arms, these arms are not likely the result of rotational motion, but are static arms resulting from the influence of magnetic fields on the nebula. The presence of two foreground stars immediately next to the nebula makes the view more interesting.

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