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Planetary Nebulae
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Planetary Nebulae (PNs) are very interesting objects. After an average star like the Sun runs out of hydrogen
to use as fuel, it starts to die (don't worry the Sun won't die for a long, long time). Eventually, after it has
shed some of its outer layers and heated up, the gas starts glowing and you get a PN. PNs last only about 10,000 years
and are relatively fleeting compared to other things you can see in space.
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| Ghost of Jupiter (NGC3242) - LRGB, f5 |
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| A bright PN that reminds viewers of Jupiter. In western Hydra. About 1400ly away. |
| The Saturn Nebula - NGC 7009, LRGB |
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| Looks like Saturn a little through the telescope. See next picture. |
| Saturn Nebula - NGC7009, Lum only, overexposed |
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| I had to overexpose a shot to show the "ring" around the nebula. |
Usually on the "must see" observing lists due to its uniqueness. It's a pretty bright PN whose core is about 36"
in diameter. The outer reaches are about 100". I took between 2s (for Lum) and 4.8s (for Blue) shots and stacked
a couple dozen lum shots and about 15 for the colors.
| The Little Gem in Sagitarius, NGC 6818, LRGB |
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| Called Little Gem due to the blue/green coloring that resembles a gem. f/5 |
| The Cat's Eye - NGC 6543, Lum only |
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| One of the most complex PNs. Taken at F/5. 2 sec shots. |
I hope to revisit the Cat's Eye Nebula soon. I was having trouble this night and didn't get to use the other filters.
Good tracking and magnification are important to tease out all of the intricate detail.
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