Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Gemini (Gem)  ·  Contains:  Eskimo Nebula  ·  NGC 2392  ·  PGC 1637323  ·  PK197+17.1
NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula - RGB, Jerry Macon
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NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula - RGB

NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula - RGB, Jerry Macon
Powered byPixInsight

NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula - RGB

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Description

NGC 2392 is a very unusual planetary nebula with an intricate and detailed internal structure. All contained within a very small perfectly round sphere, 0.7 arc minutes across, and incredibly bright. My 10 second images of RGB are even much brighter than needed. Several thousand 1 second or less exposures will yield a very detailed image. I will try that one day.

(from Wikipedia)

The Eskimo Nebula (NGC 2392), also known as the Clown-faced Nebula, Lion Nebula, or Caldwell 39, is a bipolar double-shell planetary nebula (PN). It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1787. The formation resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. It is surrounded by gas that composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star. The visible inner filaments are ejected by a strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual, light-year-long filaments.

NGC 2392 lies about 6500 light-years away, and is visible with a small telescope in the constellation of Gemini.

The nebula was discovered by William Herschel on January 17, 1787, in Slough, England. He described it as "A star 9th magnitude with a pretty bright middle, nebulosity equally dispersed all around. A very remarkable phenomenon. NGC 2392 WH IV-45 is included in the Astronomical League's Herschel 400 observing program.

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NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula - RGB, Jerry Macon

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Planetary Nebulae