The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Lyra. Such a nebula is formed when a star, during the last stages of its evolution before becoming a white dwarf, expels a vast luminous envelope of ionized gas into the surrounding interstellar space.
The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula (PN) located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, most likely before 1824, this object is one of the closest of all the bright planetary nebulae to Earth. The distance, measured by the Gaia mission, is 655±13 light-years. It is similar in appearance to the Cat's Eye Nebula and the Ring Nebula, whose size, age, and physical characteristics are similar to the Dumbbell Nebula, varying only in its relative proximity and the appearance from the equatorial viewing angle. The Helix Nebula has sometimes been referred to as the "Eye of God" in pop culture, as well as the "Eye of Sauron".
The Cat's Eye Nebula is a planetary nebula in the northern constellation of Draco, discovered by William Herschel on February 15, 1786. It was the first planetary nebula whose spectrum was investigated by the English amateur astronomer William Huggins, demonstrating that planetary nebulae were gaseous and not stellar in nature. Structurally, the object has had high-resolution images by the Hubble Space Telescope revealing knots, jets, bubbles and complex arcs, being illuminated by the central hot planetary nebula nucleus (PNN). It is a well-studied object that has been observed from radio to X-ray wavelengths.
NGC 2346 is a planetary nebula near the celestial equator in the constellation of Monoceros, less than a degree to the ESE of Delta Monocerotis. It is informally known as the Butterfly Nebula. The nebula is bright and conspicuous with a visual magnitude of 9.6, and has been extensively studied. Among its most remarkable characteristics is its unusually cool central star, which is a spectroscopic binary, and its unusual shape.
The Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation Vulpecula, at a distance of about 1360 light-years. It was the first such nebula to be discovered, by Charles Messier in 1764. At its brightness of visual magnitude 7.5 and diameter of about 8 arcminutes, it is easily visible in binoculars and is a popular observing target in amateur telescopes.
The Eskimo Nebula, also known as the Clown-faced Nebula, Lion Nebula, or Caldwell 39, is a bipolar double-shell planetary nebula (PN). It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1787. The formation resembles a person's head surrounded by a parka hood. It is surrounded by gas that composed the outer layers of a Sun-like star. The visible inner filaments are ejected by a strong wind of particles from the central star. The outer disk contains unusual, light-year-long filaments.
NGC 40 is a planetary nebula discovered by William Herschel on November 25, 1788, and is composed of hot gas around a dying star. The star has ejected its outer layer which has left behind a small, hot star. Radiation from the star causes the shed outer layer to heat to about 10,000 degrees Celsius and become visible as a planetary nebula. The nebula is about one light-year across. About 30,000 years from now, scientists theorize that NGC 40 will fade away, leaving only a white dwarf star approximately the size of Earth.
NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 2.5° east-northeast of the 5th magnitude star 19 Aquilae. It was discovered July 30, 1788 by the Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The nebula lies at a distance of 1,500 ly from the Sun. It has a visual magnitude of 11.4 and spans an angular size of 1.9 × 1.8 arcminutes.
NGC 7662 is a planetary nebula located in the northern constellation Andromeda. It is known as the Blue Snowball Nebula, Snowball Nebula, and Caldwell 22. This nebula was discovered October 6, 1784 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel. In the New General Catalogue it is described as a "magnificent planetary or annular nebula, very bright, pretty small in angular size, round, blue, variable nucleus". The object has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.3 and spans an angular size of 32″ × 28″. Parallax measurements give a distance estimate of 5,730 ± 340 ly (1,757 ± 103 pc).
NGC 7354 is a planetary nebula located in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, at a distance of approximately 5.5 kly from the Sun. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on November 3, 1787. John L. E. Dreyer described it as, "a planetary nebula, bright, small, round, pretty gradually a very little brighter middle".
NGC 6884 is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Cygnus, less than a degree to the southwest of the star Ο1 Cygni. It lies at a distance of approximately 12.5 kly from the Sun. The nebula was discovered on May 8, 1883, by American astronomer Edward C. Pickering.
IC 2448 is an elliptical planetary nebula in the constellation of Carina. It was discovered in 1898 by Williamina Fleming. It lies near the bright star Beta Carinae, and the southern Carina can be explored in the months of autumn in the southern hemisphere. The central star of the planetary nebula is an O-type star with a spectral type of O(H)3 III-V. An analysis of Gaia data suggests that it is a binary system.
IC 2149 is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Auriga. It is a small, bright planetary nebula with something to offer in telescopes of most sizes.
Little Ghost Nebula, also known as NGC 6369, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by William Herschel.
IC 1295 is a planetary nebula in the constellation Scutum. It was discovered in 1867 by Truman Safford. It lies roughly 4,700 light-years away.
NGC 7026 is a planetary nebula located 6000 light-years away, in the constellation of Cygnus. The central star of the planetary nebula has a spectral type of [WO3], indicating a spectrum similar to that of an oxygen-rich Wolf–Rayet star. An analysis of Gaia data suggests that it is a binary system.
Nicknamed the Spare-tyre nebula, IC 5148 is a planetary nebula located around 1 degree west of Lambda Gruis in the constellation of Grus. It was discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Walter Gale in 1894. Around 3000 light-years distant, it is expanding at a rate of 50 kilometres a second, one of the fastest of all planetary nebulae.
NGC 1501 is a complex planetary nebula located in the constellation of Camelopardalis, it was discovered on the 27th August 1787 by William Herschel. It is also known as the Oyster Nebula.
Cometary knots, also referred as globules, are structures observed in several nearby planetary nebulae (PNe), including the Helix Nebula, the Ring Nebula, the Dumbbell Nebula, the Eskimo Nebula, and the Retina Nebula. They are believed to be a common feature of the evolution of planetary nebulae, but can only be resolved in the nearest examples. They are generally larger than the size of the Solar System, with masses of around 0.00001 times the mass of the Sun, which is comparable to the mass of the Earth. There are about 40,000 cometary knots in the Helix Nebula.
NGC 6905, also known as the Blue Flash Nebula, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Delphinus. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784. The central star is 14.0 mag. The distance of the nebula, as with most planetary nebulae, is not well determined and estimates range between 1.7 and 2.6 kpc.
