Nebula
Saturn Nebula
Planetary nebula · C55 · NGC 7009
Planetary nebula in Aquarius
Photo: Bruce Balick (University of Washington), Jason Alexander (University of Washington), Arsen · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
The Saturn Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius. It appears as a greenish-yellowish hue in a small amateur telescope. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 7, 1782, using a telescope of his own design in the garden at his home in Datchet, England, and was one of his earliest discoveries in his sky survey. The nebula was originally a low-mass star that ejected its layers into space, forming the nebula. The central star is now a bright white dwarf star of apparent magnitude 11.5. The Saturn Nebula gets its name from its superficial resemblance to the planet Saturn with its rings nearly edge-on to the observer. It was so named by Lord Rosse in the 1840s, when telescopes had improved to the point that its Saturn-like shape could be discerned. William Henry Smyth said that the Saturn Nebula was one of Struve's nine "Rare Celestial Objects".
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~1,400 light-years
Apparent mag.
+8
Apparent size
0.7′ × 0.5′
Best seen with
Binoculars
Catalogue
C55 · NGC 7009
Did you know
- Listed as Caldwell 55 in the Caldwell catalogue, also known as NGC 7009.
- Found in the constellation Aquarius.
- Within reach of ordinary binoculars under dark skies.
