Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Serpens (Ser)  ·  Contains:  LBN 58  ·  Sh2-46
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Sh2-46, Gary Imm
Sh2-46, Gary Imm

Sh2-46

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Sh2-46, Gary Imm
Sh2-46, Gary Imm

Sh2-46

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Description

This Ha emission nebula, also known as RCW 158 and Gum 80, is the 46th entry in the Sharpless catalogue.  It is located in the constellation of Serpens at a declination of -14 degrees and is believed to be about 5000 light years away.

The nebula is 30 arc-minutes in diameter, about the same apparent size in the sky as our moon, and is about 50 light years wide.  

The brightest star at the center of the nebula, the magnitude 8 star HD 165319, is believed to be ionizing this nebula.  The motion of this star suggests that it may have been ejected from NGC 6611 long ago.  This is the central star cluster of M 16, the Eagle Nebula, which is about 3 degrees to the east of Sh2-46.

Note the giraffe-like faint dark nebula on the right side of the image.  I could not find a designation for this one.

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