Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Cetus (Cet)  ·  Contains:  NGC 246  ·  NGC 255  ·  PK118-74.1
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Skull Nebula (NGC 246 & 255), Miles Zhou
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Skull Nebula (NGC 246 & 255)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Skull Nebula (NGC 246 & 255), Miles Zhou
Powered byPixInsight

Skull Nebula (NGC 246 & 255)

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Description

NGC 246 is a10.9-magnitude planetary nebula in the constellation Cetus. It has a bright disk that gives the impression of transparency because of the sprinkling of stars across it. The disk is mottled, and the notch at its SE edge (lower-left in the image) makes the planetary look like a donut with a bite taken from it. Within the disk, about 45" SW and 65" ESE of the 12th magnitude central star respectively, are 12th and 13th magnitude field stars (shown). Another 12th magnitude field star lies near the NNW edge, and 1' SW (lower-right in the image) of the disk is a second 13th magnitude star.

Nicknamed "the Skull Nebula", this lovely, intricate planetary nebula is the outer atmosphere of a once sun-like star some 1,600 light-years away. Expelled over a period of thousands of years, its large angular dimensions of 4.6' x 4.1' imply an actual size of 6 light years.

The central star of this nebula (HIP 3678) is actually a binary system (undiscernable in the image), with a close angular separation (3.8"). NGC 246's dying central star, now a white dwarf, is worth monitoring. In 1930, its photographic magnitude was as bright as 9th magnitude. In 1969 it dipped to 11.2, and today it shines at about 12th magnitude.

This is an LRGB composition, although some Ha and Oiii data was collected. Will see if they help to reveal more features of the target.

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Skull Nebula (NGC 246 & 255), Miles Zhou

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