NGC 7662 "Blue Snowball": Planetary Nebula (Andromeda) RA: 23h 25.9m / DEC: +42° 32'.1 Instrument: 10-inch Starfinder |
NGC 7662 has such a distinct blue-green hue, it's been dubbed the Blue Snowball by many amateur astronomers. You'll find this bright planetary nebula in northwestern Andromeda. 3.6 magnitude Omicron (1) Andromedae and 5.1 magnitude 2 Andromedae are paired 4.3 degrees due west. The sketch at left portrays a 258X view in my 10-inch Newtonian. This equates to a 1-mm exit pupil, which is just right for small, high surface brightness objects like this. NGC 7662 is positioned south of center. It appears as a 30" diameter smoke ring. The annulus is quite thick, leaving only the inner 5" dark. The 13.2 magnitude central star was not observed. Eleven field stars frame the nebula. Among these is an 8th magnitude GSC star, positioned about 9' to the east just inside the field boundary. |
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