Jupiter's spirit

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Planetary Nebula
NGC 3242 (Jupiter's Spirit)
False color display of an observation using the line filter of the Hubble space telescope: 658 nm (red), 656 nm (green) and 502 nm (blue).
False color display of an observation using the line filter of the Hubble space telescope : 658 nm (red), 656 nm (green) and 502 nm (blue).
AladinLite
Constellation Water snake
Position
equinox : J2000.0
Right ascension 10h 24m 46s
declination -18 ° 38 ′ 32 ″
Appearance
Apparent brightness  (visual) 7.7 likes 
Apparent brightness  (B-band) 8.6 likes 
Angular expansion 20.8 ′ × 20.8 ′  
Central star
designation HD 90255 
Apparent brightness 12.1 mag 
Physical data
Redshift +0.000016 
Radial velocity +4.7 km / s 
distance > 1400 ly 
history
discovery William Herschel
Date of discovery February 7, 1785
Catalog names
 NGC  3242 •  PK  261 + 32.1 •  ESO  568-PN5 •  GC  2102 •  H  IV 27 •  h  3248 • CS = 12.0

Jupiter's spirit (also known as NGC 3242 ) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius .

The nebula is made up of a denser area with a diameter of 16 × 24 arc seconds and a visibly weaker envelope with a diameter of 40 × 35 arc seconds. Since the outer shell of the nebula in the telescope is roughly the same size as the planet Jupiter , it is also referred to as the ghost of Jupiter. The apparent magnitude of the visible nebula is 7.7 mag.

However, photographic images show that the nebula is much more extensive at 20.8  arc minutes (for comparison: the moon has a diameter of around 30 arc minutes when viewed from Earth).

In the center there is a white dwarf star with an apparent magnitude of 12.1 mag. Its distance to the sun has not yet been clearly determined, but is usually given as 2,500 light years . Another estimate, however, assumes a distance of 1,400 light years.

The nebula was discovered on February 7, 1785 by William Herschel , who cataloged it as H IV 27. John Herschel observed it around 1830 from the Cape of Good Hope and included it in the General Catalog in 1864 as GC 2102 . In Dreyer's New General Catalog of 1888 it was given the number NGC 3242.

Web links

Commons : NGC 3242  - album containing pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ NASA / IPAC EXTRAGALACTIC DATABASE
  2. ↑ a b SEDS
  3. ↑ a b SIMBAD
  4. ^ Astronomy Picture of the Day