Blue Planetary (NGC 3918)

A planetary nebula in the constellation Centaurus, 2.5 degrees northwest of the star Delta Crux, that was discovered and named by John Herschel in 1834. In a 25-cm telescope, at low to medium power (75 to 120×), it appears as a small pale blue disk similar to that of Neptune. The image shown here was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

visual magnitude	8.1
angular size	12"
distance	2,600 light-years (800 pc)
position	R.A. 11h 50m 18s, Dec. -57° 10' 57"
other designations	PN G294.6 + 04.7, PK 294+04 1, ARO 514

Related category

• NEBULAE AND STAR CLUSTERS

Also on this site:

Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy & Sustainable Living
Encyclopedia of History

BACK TO TOP