| Description | This was a fun little capture of an obscure object. Selected because I was planning to observe the Leo Triplet with the 600mm Askar V, and was looking for other objects to observe along the way. There was a fair amount of moon this night, which can make the red go crazy. Also during an unfortunate phase in my observing career where I thought I was dithering, but wasn't. This contributes to the background noise. Discovered in 1955 by astronomer George O. Abell, who categorized it as a Supernova Remnant. Research by Soviet astronomers in 1971 recategorized it as an old planetary nebula. A planetary nebula is a region of cosmic gas and dust formed from the cast-off outer layers of a dying star. They tend to be smaller than this object, which is no doubt why Abell didn't recognize it as such. |
