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Minkowski 3-1, Gary Imm

Minkowski 3-1

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Minkowski 3-1, Gary Imm

Minkowski 3-1

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Description

This object is a planetary nebula located 15,000 light years away in the southern constellation of Canis Major at a declination of -32 degrees. This magnitude 13 PN spans 0.5 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of 2 light years. I have not been able to find a previous amateur image of this object.

This bi-polar PN has two red (hydrogen) ansae that protrude from a cyan (oxygen) nebula structure. Studies have concluded that such ansae are typically generated by fast rotating close-binary central star systems, and indeed this PN has one of the shortest period orbits at just over 3 hours. Other similar PN include NGC 6210 and NGC 6309.

Because the structure of this PN is not quite symmetric, it is likely that a third star may be part of the central star system.

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