- NGC 3242 Ghost of Jupiter
NGC 3242 is a planetary nebula lying in the southern Spring sky below the constellation Hydra. While it is small (visual diameter around 25 arc-sec), it is surprisingly bright (visual magnitude 8.6). In smaller telescopes, the object typically looks like a softly glowing greenish-blue disk. It was discovered in February of 1785 by William Herschel, who was the first to compare its appearance to a pale Jupiter. Larger telescopes or, in my case, time exposures reveal an interesting structure to this object. Within the slightly elliptical disk of the nebula is a brighter inner ring somewhat reminiscent of the the Ring Nebula (M 57) in Lyra. Unlike some other planetary nebulas, the color of NGC 3242 is the uniform greenish-blue ("teal") glow of OIII emissions. This appearance has also led to it being called the "Eye Nebula".
NGC 3242 lies at a distance of around 1400 LY, and has a physical diameter of around a light-year. The central star (just hinted at in my image) is an 11th magnitude white dwarf.
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