| Description | Another William Herschel discovery, this one from 1784. It is a planetary nebula where a medium-sized star has shed its outer layers, leaving a white dwarf core. I find small planetary nebula difficult to capture (give me a mag. 16 galaxy with a tidal bridge to a companion any day!). These objects are so bright you have to really cut back on the exposure. Here 5s at 101g... where with most DSOs I'm shooting 20s@250g. This was not a terribly good night with a quarter moon, and clouds coming in and out. I tried staying on this as long as I could, hoping for some center detail to emerge, but clouds ended this capture prematurely. |
