This object was recommended to me by
@Boyan Kassabov . What is interesting for it is that it is the most northern Sharpless object - 81 degrees north. For me this means that it passes the meridian below Polaris at a height of 30 degrees and it can be imaged all year long (never sets below the horizon).
I started to image it since February this year. Most of my frames were acquired close to the 30 degrees mark.
This object is somewhat unique. I could find two theories for its nature:
- first one is that it is an ancient Planetary Nebula. The perpetrator star for this beautiful formation is the one in the center of the blue part of the nebula. It is believed that the irregular form is due to the interaction of the nebula with the interstellar medium that surrounds it.
- second one is that it is not an ancient Planetary Nebula but only Ionized Gas. The perpetrator is again the same star. It has been estimated that its age is quite older than the nebula itself and thus it is considered that the star is just passing through and ionizing the surrounding gas.
The distance of the nebula from our Solar System - 980 light years.
Regardless of the nature of the nebula it displays beautiful colors and intriguing formations and I am glad that I could capture it from my location - among the lights of the city.
CS
Ivan
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