OK, I’ve seen a lot of deep-sky objects in my time so it takes something special to be unfamiliar and also a stunning image. This hot picture by Don Goldman of Ellis Grayson Bond 6 is just that — a killer!
Photo credit: Don Goldman
This obscure planetary nebula in Leo has rarely been imaged — let alone observed — by amateur astronomers. It’s a large object located at 9h53m, 13°45' (2000.0), glowing faintly and measuring 13' by 11'. The planetary lies at a distance of about 1,500 light-years and was discovered only in 1984 on Palomar Sky Survey plates. It’s old for a planetary nebula, about 60,000 years, which explains its large size and extreme faintness.
To capture it, Don used an RCOS 16-inch f/8.9 Ritchey-Chrétien scope on a Software Bisque Paramount, with an Apogee U16M CCD camera. He employed Astrodon Gen 2 RGB, 3nm Hydrogen-alpha and Oxygen-III filters, and stacked multiple images.
What a terrific image of the week!