Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Gemini (Gem)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2395  ·  Sh2-274
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SH2-274 ( Abell 21) - The Medusa Nebula, Almos Balasi
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SH2-274 ( Abell 21) - The Medusa Nebula

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SH2-274 ( Abell 21) - The Medusa Nebula, Almos Balasi
Powered byPixInsight

SH2-274 ( Abell 21) - The Medusa Nebula

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Description

The Medusa Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Gemini. It is also known as Abell 21 and Sharpless 2-274. It was originally discovered in 1955 by University of California, Los Angeles astronomer George O. Abell, who classified it as an old planetary nebula. Until the early 1970s, the nebula was thought to be a supernova remnant. With the computation of expansion velocities and the thermal character of the radio emission, Soviet astronomers in 1971 concluded that it was most likely a planetary nebula. As the nebula is so large, its surface brightness is very low, with surface magnitudes of between +15.99 and +25 reported. The central star of the planetary nebula is an PG 1159 star. (from Wikipedia)

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