This is another of my
continuing compilation poster series studying DSO features that I find interesting. Today's subject is deep space objects that resemble diamond rings.
Abell 33 is a planetary nebula which is circular in form and which has a bright star superimposed on the rim. It is a beautiful object and it is easy to see why it has earned the nickname of the Diamond Ring. The star placement on the rim is perfect and the PN is almost a perfect circle.
Although Abell 33 is the classic and cannot quite be matched, other planetary nebulae, asterisms and galaxies also have some resemblance to a diamond ring shape. The poster contains a total of 18 of these objects.
A few comments on these objects:
- The scale of these objects varies dramatically, from a diameter of 30 arc-seconds (G132.8+2.0 PN) to 1 degree (Polaris asterism).
- The galaxy objects shown here all involve looping star streams that are the result of a merger in process, with the possible exception of Arp 148 (Mayall’s Object).
- Abell 70 and Arp 148 have edge-on galaxies as the “diamond” instead of a round star or galaxy, giving them an interesting look.
- Most of these objects are a bit of a stretch for being a visual diamond ring, although I do like Kr 61 and I think it may look more like a diamond ring than the classic Abell 33.
If you like oddball posters like this one, you might enjoy the following:
Cars of the Cosmos 
TIE fighters of the Star Wars Universe
Worst DSO NicknamesHave a great day, and don't take this hobby too seriously!
And now you can stop singing "
Lucy in the sky with diamonds" in your head. Or at least I wish I could.
Comments