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NGC 246

Planetary Nebula Showpiece (78/100)
NGC 246 PlanetaryNebula Cet Visible Level 3 Medium telescope (6-8") - Benefits from OIII filter
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Properties

Magnitude 8.0
Angular Size 4.1′
vF, L, 4 st in dif neb

Position & Identifiers

RA 00h 47m 00.0s
Dec -11° 52' 60.0"
Constellation Cet
Catalog NGC 246

Visibility

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Eyepiece View

200x TFOV: 0.2° Lim. mag: 14.2
N E

NGC 246 · 4.1′ · N up, E left

Filter Response Guide

Central Star

Surface Brightness & Observing Difficulty

Survey Image

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About NGC 246

Description

NGC 246 is a planetary nebula in Cetus, about 1,600 light-years away. Known as the Skull Nebula, it has a large, ghostly shell about 4 arcminutes across with a distinctly mottled, uneven surface that gives it a skull-like appearance.

Observing Tips

A large but faint planetary nebula. An 8-inch telescope with an OIII filter shows the round, uneven glow. The 12th-magnitude central star is a hot white dwarf in a binary system. Best in autumn evenings.

History

Discovered by William Herschel on November 27, 1785. The central star is actually a close binary system, which may influence the nebula's complex internal structure.

Fun Facts

NGC 246 is one of the nearest planetary nebulae to Earth and one of the largest in angular size. Its central star is one of the hottest white dwarfs known, at about 150,000 K.