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 May 29 2009  Planetary Nebula NGC 2440 in Puppis |
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Many planetary nebulae exhibit a bilobed structure, but planetary nebula NGC 2440 has two pairs of lobes, each extending along a different axis. The outline of the four lobes can be seen in this picture. It is not known whether the two pairs were ejected at the same time or at different times.
Inside the bright spot at the center of the nebula is the star that makes it glow: the white dwarf HD62166, which at a temperature of 200,000 degrees is the hottest known star in our galaxy - about 30 times as hot as the sun. It is a very dense star; its mass is 0.6 solar mass, but its radius is only 3% of the sun's radius - i.e. about 2/3 of the sun's mass squeezed into a sphere only 3 times as wide as the earth.
NGC 2440 is about 4000 light years away and is about 1 light year in diameter. This nebula was a challenge to image from Fenwick because it is quite low in the sky from there, only allowing a short window to image it.
Imaging details: RA 7.698 DEC -18.217, Mag 11.5, Size 20-54 Arc Seconds
Clear 42 Minutes, Red 22 Minutes, Green 24 Minutes, Blue 22 Minutes
RGB Binned 2x2
Meade 10" SCT OTA at F 6.3, Takahashi NJP Mount, Sbig ST-10 CCD
Stacked with Deep Sky Stacker, Processed with MaximDL5 and Photoshop CS2 |
| Submitted by: JoshuaH | Location: Fenwick Observatory Richmond, VA | Date: May 17 2012 |
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May 29 2009
Views: 1135
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