Planetary Nebula in Cygnus
This planetary nebula does not really blink, except as an optical illusion. People can detect dim objects better by using peripheral vision than by looking straight at the object. Therefore, if you look directly at the bright star in the center of this nebula, it may be difficult to see the nebula itself. But look slightly to the side, and the hazy nebula suddenly "blinks" into view. Looking back and forth can make the nebula appear to come and go. When it is visible at all, what we see is the bright central region of this planetary; the much dimmer halo only appears in long-exposure photos.
The central region has an intricate and fascinating structure, and the central star of magnitude 10.6 is very easy to see through a telescope.
| Magnitude | 8.9 |
| Apparent Size | 2.1' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 4,000 |
| Right Ascension | 19:44.8 |
| Declination | +50 32 |
| Field of View | 22' x 17' |
Image details: Exposure times of 49 minutes luminance, and 24 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG STF8300M imager and a 14" Meade telescope at f/8. Luminance subframes of 30 and 300 seconds were combined to obtain a higher dynamic range.
July 2019