NGC 246 - 2018 (Gary Imm)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Cetus (Cet) · Contains: NGC 246

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NGC 246 - 2018

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NGC 246 - 2018

This object is a planetary nebula located 1600 light years away in the constellation of Cetus. Its diameter is estimated to be 2.5 light years. The nebula is dominated by oxygen gas, as seen in the bluish-green sections of the nebula which are especially strong around the perimeter. The central portion of the nebula is dominated by reddish hydrogen gas.

The nebula appears to be translucent is certain areas, creating the "skull" effect. Scientists don't understand the exact mechanism for the development of this structure, but it is likely due to the expelled nebula gas colliding with different densities of the surrounding interstellar space.

The central bright bluish progenitor star is clearly visible. Looking carefully, it is clear that this is at least a double star (discovered in 1965 by Rudolph Minkowski). I find it amazing that in a relatively short span of time this central dwarf star has been dimming as it is dying, from 9th magnitude in the 1930s to 12th magnitude today. This star is located slightly closer to the top leading edge of the nebula than to the bottom trailing edge. The top leading edge is the direction towards which the star is moving. As expected, the gas front at the leading edge is brighter and thicker than that of the trailing edge.

The most interesting part of this image to me are the two small faint lobes which are sticking out of the right side of the nebula. On the opposite (left) side there also appears to be a faint lobe, which is easier to see in the negative view of this image. It could be that a bi-polar outflow from the central star pair is creating these lobes, but I have not read that anywhere so it is just a guess on my part.

The refractors!
Cloudy Nights
ZWO ASI1600MM/QHY163M
Narrowband imaging

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	2438446
PixInsight job	UVQFVK63N3BKKE2F9E3H3PB6Z6N70H9E
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	00h47m03s.902
RA (top/left)	00h46m17s.584
RA (top/right)	00h46m11s.218
RA (bottom/right)	00h47m50s.388
RA (bottom/left)	00h47m56s.557

Dec (center)	-11°52′09″.61
Dec (top/left)	-11°32′21″.34
Dec (top/right)	-12°10′59″.19
Dec (bottom/right)	-12°11′56″.83
Dec (bottom/left)	-11°33′18″.36

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NGC 246 - 2018

NGC 246 - 2018

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NGC 246 - 2018

NGC 246 - 2018

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