This planetary nebula is located 4000 light years away in the constellation of Hydra at a declination of -19 degrees. It is a magnitude 7 PN which spans 1 arc-minute in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 1 light year.
This is one of the brightest PN in the night sky, coming in at anywhere from the 10th to the 15th brightest PN depending upon who is measuring it. It is the 59th object of the
Caldwell Catalog.
The small central progenitor star is clearly visible, shining at magnitude 12. This star is likely bipolar, leading to the elliptical shape of the bright inner ring.
The nebula shape reminds me of M57:
M57 is about the same size but is closer and brighter to us, with more HII (red) content and a more diffuse outer spherical envelope.
This object, like all planetary nebula, is a dying sun blowing its outer layers into interstellar space. William Herschel, who discovered this nebula in 1785, noted its resemblance in size, shape, and color to the planet Jupiter through his telescope, although there is no real resemblance to Jupiter in this image. The cyan hue of the nebula is caused by hot oxygen atoms set aglow by the star in the center, along with some hydrogen.
I hate DSO nicknames. I think DSOs should be allowed to stand on their own merit and not be biased by someone’s imaginative thoughts. This object is burdened by many nicknames – the Ghost of Jupiter, the CBS Eye, and the Rival of Uranus, just to name a few.
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