| Planetary
Nebula
aka PNG 041.8-02.9, PK 041-02.1, ARO 32 Integrated Visual Magnitude: 11.8 Apparent Diameter: 1.8' Mean Surface Brightness: 21.7 mag/arc-sec2 Distance: 2500 ly Actual Diameter: 1-2 ly Minimum requirements to view: a 3-inch scope under dark skies |
NGC
6781 is a beautiful planetary with much exquisite detail for 8-inch or
larger scopes. Compared to the Ring Nebula it is relatively large
and faint, yet not so faint that it isn't visible in small telescopes.
It appears as an oval with a slightly darker center. At 16.8 magnitude,
the central star (a white dwarf) is probably out of reach of most instruments.
In my 6-inch Newtonian it appeared much larger than drawn in the chart below. It was relatively obvious at 50x. Best at 135x. It was irregular in appearance; blotchy, and irregularly shaped. No central star was seen.
In my 18-inch f/4.5 it was obvious as a large hazy spot at 97x, making it quite different from the typical tiny planetaries it seems I've been spending so much of my time observing these days. It appeared slightly oval with perhaps a small darkening to the center. At 165x I glimpsed hints of dark spots. Quite cool!
A six-inch view at 50x. North is down and east is right.
| Millennium
Star Atlas Vol III Chart 1269
Sky Atlas 2000 Chart 16 Uranometria 2000 Vol I Chart 206 |
