Abell 79 (Gary Imm)

Celestial hemisphere: Northern · Constellation: Lacerta (Lac)

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Abell 79

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Abell 79

This object is a rarely imaged planetary nebula located 4000 light years away in the constellation of Lacerta at a declination of +55 degrees. The nebula spans 2 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of just over 2 light years.

The structure of this planetary nebula is unlike any other that I have imaged or seen. I am not going to try to describe the unique shape here when the image does a fine job of showing it. The signal is primarily HII. I am fascinated by the intersecting arcing gas fronts, as well as the tiny lobes which extend inward from the overall oval "loop". The OIII signal is strongest on the inner edge of the loop and shows up in the image as a faint misty cyan shadow, particularly at the bottom inside of the loop.

I was not able to find any explanation of how this unique PN structure was generated. My view is that the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM) is very active and has distorted the typically symmetric shape. Comparing this to the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) for example, the overall structures look broadly similar (outer HII region with arcing bands and an inner OIII section with lobes that face the center), but the outer features are very distorted in this object.

There is a bright central star but I cannot confirm that this is the source star of the PN.

Narrowband imaging
Takahashi Refractors
Planetary Nebulae
ZWO ASI183/QHY183
Abell Planetary Nebula
The refractors!
Cloudy Nights

Abell PN Catalog (Complete)
All of My PN Images (264)
Small Packages Catalog (Complete)

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The “AstroBin Image of the Day and Top Picks”, or IOTD/TP, is a long-running system to promote beautiful, interesting, peculiar, or otherwise amazing astrophotographs, with a focus on technical excellence. Learn more.

Submitted The date and time when you submitted this image for IOTD/TP consideration.	...
Views by Submitters (available since September 19th, 2023) Every image is assigned to 50% of available Submitters. In the event that at least 80% of them don't view the image before its time in the IOTD/TP process expires, it's assigned to the other 50% of Submitters and the process begins anew.
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Status	Advanced success
Started	...
Astrometry.net job	2930635
PixInsight job	ZRJGUK8M50C82VSE7UEP8R1O3RWY93SM
PixInsight queue size	n/a
PixInsight stage	n/a

RA (center)	22h26m17s.311
RA (top/left)	22h25m58s.158
RA (top/right)	22h24m58s.997
RA (bottom/right)	22h26m36s.262
RA (bottom/left)	22h27m36s.300

Dec (center)	+54°49′36″.44
Dec (top/left)	+55°02′19″.76
Dec (top/right)	+54°43′08″.38
Dec (bottom/right)	+54°36′53″.21
Dec (bottom/left)	+54°56′01″.59

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Abell 79

Abell 79

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Abell 79

Abell 79

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