Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Hydra (Hya)  ·  Contains:  Jupiter's Ghost Nebula  ·  NGC 3242
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Ghost of Jupiter, Bruce Rohrlach
Ghost of Jupiter
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Ghost of Jupiter

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)
Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Ghost of Jupiter, Bruce Rohrlach
Ghost of Jupiter
Powered byPixInsight

Ghost of Jupiter

Acquisition type: Electronically-Assisted Astronomy (EAA, e.g. based on a live video feed)

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Description

Another quickly acquired image from last week (100 x 2 second subs for each of the RGB filters) - the 'Ghost of Jupiter' planetary nebula (NGC 3242) located in the constellation of Hydra. Also inadvertantly scored a close pass (at least visually) of the Soviet nuclear-powered Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite (RORSAT). The RORSATS were designed to search the oceans for US Navy task forces and other shipping (altitude 795km, velocity 7.458 km/second).

The blue-green coloured planetary nebula is also called the Eye Nebula. At 26 x 16 arc seconds for it's inner core, it's about the same visual diameter as Jupiter. This 'planetary nebula' surrounds a star that has completed fusion in its core and has thrown off its outer layers to create this brief but beautiful cosmic display of violently ejected gas shells.

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Ghost of Jupiter, Bruce Rohrlach