NGC 1501 (Planetary nebula)
|
Also known as: Herschel H53-4
|
Right ascension: 4h 8m
|
Declination: 60° 58'
|
Constellation: Camelopardalis
|
Date/time: 2015.11.12 23:40 UT
|
Equipment: 12" f/5 Newtonian
|
FoV: 16'
|
Magnification and filter(s): 214x + UHC, O-III filter(s)
|
Seeing: 4/10
|
Transparency: 4/5
|
SQM: 21.14 m/as2
|
Temperature: 6°C
|
Humidity: low
|
Wind: none
|
Sight: 4 - lots of details, very interesting, unique look
|
Difficulty: 3 - moderately visible, dark adaptation needed, averted vision might add to details
|
Position: 2 - easy, bright star nearby
|
Location: Talpa Minor Observatory
|
Observer: Ferenc Lovró
|
Description:
I was very surprised when I looked into the 21mm (71x) eyepiece I use for searching objects, because I expected a tiny fuzzy stellar sight: instead a small, round, well-defined spot greeted me. Increased my magnification to 250x, however - most probably because of the below average seeing - the planetary nebula was much better looking when I stepped back from my 6mm TMB Planetary II to my 7mm of the same type, providing a modest 214x magnification. This is a very easy target even without filters, however I found that it appears much brighter compared to the sky background with a wide transmission UHC filter. An O-III was also fine, but somehow the UHC view was a bit neater for me. It resembles the M57 Ring Nebula, except that it is a bit fainter, smaller, and the central part of the muffin shape is not as dark, but closer to the outer regions in surface brightness. Can be found relatively easily by following the path of Kemble's Cascade, as it sits near one of its end, close to the nice open cluster NGC 1502.
|
Hi-resolution image: [ reversed sketch | original sketch ]
|
|
|
|