Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Vulpecula (Vul)  ·  Contains:  PK062-00.1
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Minkowski 2-48, Gary Imm
Minkowski 2-48, Gary Imm

Minkowski 2-48

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Minkowski 2-48, Gary Imm
Minkowski 2-48, Gary Imm

Minkowski 2-48

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Description

This Astrobin Debut Object is a planetary nebula located 21,000 light years away in the constellation of Vulpecula at a declination of +26 degrees.  It is a magnitude 17 PN that is also known as PK62-0.1.  The bright portion is 30 arc-second long, which corresponds to an actual width of 3 light years.  

The shape of this PN is unique.  It is obvious that it is a bi-polar PN.  It looks like the left lobe has broken out, leading to several red arcing bow shocks leading towards the left.  We are fortunate to have a nice side-on view of this PN.  Other views would make it difficult to assess the structure.  I am puzzled by the inner bright section, which typically is the torus but it should be oriented vertically, not along the bipolar axis. The overall structure reminds me a bit of NGC 6537.

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