NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula (Terry Robison)

Celestial hemisphere: Southern · Constellation: Cetus (Cet) · Contains: NGC 246

NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula, Terry Robison

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NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula

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NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula

This happy little fellow is the planetary nebula NGC 246 discovered by William Herschel in 1785. The Skull Nebula is located in the constellation Cetus. From our vantage point, it has an angular resolution of just 3.7 arcmin. The estimated diameter is about 2.3 light-years, and is 1,600 light-years from our planet. It has a fairly low surface brightness at around 11th magnitude. Quite often, visual observers can find the foreground stars overpowering when trying to locate this planetary nebula. The central star is fairly bright at 11.8 magnitude. The eastern limb of the nebula is brighter suggesting that it is interacting with the interstellar medium. This is an excellent example of how some objects exhibit bow waves truly reflecting the dynamics of the interstellar medium.

I tried to capture the ethereal shell of this planetary nebula. It reminds me of a crystal sphere just hanging in space. The teal and red colours of the planetary really seem to add an element of extra depth to the image.

Instruments:

10 Inch RCOS fl 9.1

Astro Physics AP-900 Mount

SBIG STL 11000m

FLI Filter Wheel

Astrodon Lum, Red, Green, Blue Filters

Baader Planetarium H-alpha 7nm Narrowband-Filter

Baader Planetarium O-III 8.5 Narrowband-Filter

Exposure Details:

62 X 900 Bin 1X1 Lum

25 X 450 Bin 2X2 Red

22 X 450 Bin 2X2 Green

20 X 450 Bin 2X2 Blue

5 X 900 Bin 1X1 Ha

10 X 900 Bin 1x1 OIII

Location

Australia, Central Victoria

Thanks for looking.

Astronomical Society of Victoria (ASV)
Planetary Nebulae
Objects of the South - negative declination only

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NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula

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NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula

NGC 246 - The Skull Nebula

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