Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Cygnus (Cyg)
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Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92, Gary Imm
Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92, Gary Imm

Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92

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Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92, Gary Imm
Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92, Gary Imm

Minkowski's Footprint - M1-92

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Description

This object, M1-92, is a rarely imaged protoplanetary nebula located 5200 light years away in the constellation of Cygnus at a declination of +30 degrees. This nebula spans only 15 arc-seconds, which corresponds to an actual length of 0.5 light years..

The star is illuminating bi-polar flow of gas which has developed into 2 lobes. A circumstellar dust disk is believe to exist around the central star, constraining the gas flow to the observed bi-polar directions. I have attached the Hubble image of this interesting object.

I researched the history of this object, hoping to find an interesting story behind the nickname. Alas, it is not too exciting – Minkowski discovered it, and someone of unkown origin (perhaps Minkowski?) decided that it looks like a footprint, although I would argue that it looks more like a shoeprint.

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