Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Auriga (Aur)  ·  Contains:  HD37670  ·  HD37737  ·  HD37767  ·  HD38152  ·  LBN 805  ·  LBN 808  ·  LDN 1525  ·  PK173+03.1  ·  Sh2-231  ·  Sh2-232  ·  Sh2-235
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Sh2-232  "The Great Pumpkin of Auriga", Monty Chandler
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Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Sh2-232  "The Great Pumpkin of Auriga", Monty Chandler
Powered byPixInsight

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Description

Sh2-232, Sharpless 232, referred to as the Great Pumpkin Nebula, is a faint, small, and diffused nebula ball in the constellation Auriga. It is located in the pentagon of Auriga, about 3 degrees northeast of IC405.  I saw this image on Astrobin and thought it looked cool so I added it to my project list.  February '24 became the month.  860mm was a tight fit I admit.

Sh2-232 is the largest and faintest of a group of diffuse nebulae in Auriga. It is ionized by two giant stars, the O9.5 III HD 37737 and an anonymous B0 II class star.  I read that somewhere.

A unique feature of this target is the Planetary Nebula found in the middle of those three central stars (blue/grey dot) - it's named PK173+03.1.  I do hope it plate solves.  LDN1525 also features prominently as a black vein.  SH2-235 looks like a companion ball of gases.

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Sh2-232  "The Great Pumpkin of Auriga", Monty Chandler