NGC 40 (Planetary nebula)
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Also known as: Bow Tie Nebula
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Right ascension: 0h 14m
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Declination: 72° 36'
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Constellation: Cepheus
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Date/time: 2012.10.20 21:30 UT
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Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
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FoV: 7'
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Magnification and filter(s): 469x
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Seeing: 7/10
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Transparency: 4/5
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SQM: 21.14 m/as2
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Temperature: 10°C
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Humidity: high
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Wind: none
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Sight: 3 - definite details, interesting look
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Difficulty: 4 - hardly visible, dark adaptation and very dark skies needed, averted vision is required to see details
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Position: 4 - hard, complex starhopping needed
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Location: Nádasdladány, Hungary
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Observer: Ferenc Lovró
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Description:
Tiny planetary, at 71x it looks like a star with a small halo. Especially with averted vision you can see its round shape. At high magnification I discover lots of details, for example a thin, brighter arc on its Northern border, and a brighter blob next to the central star to the South, and a darker patch to the Southwest. With averted vision, the round shape transforms to a little bit of oval, elongated in the East to West direction.
What makes this observation special is that it is actually an error, because I've already observed this object about a month ago, but again, I failed to mark this object in my list of observed objects: click here for that observation. So I've sketched it again, and what's more interesting is that I have used the same magnification! Although the subjective classification is a bit different, but alltogether the two observations are quite the same.
Lessons learned: a.) the faint details I've sketched last time were also there this night, so I have a strong proof now that I can trust my senses, even if the details are extremely faint or low-contrast. b.) I'm getting older, shouldn't trust my memory anymore. :)
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Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
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