Concise Catalog of Deep-Sky Objects by Warren H. Finlay

Author:Warren H. Finlay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

NGC 3242

Constellation

Object type

RA, Dec

Approx. transit date at local midnight

Hydra

Planetary nebula

10 h 24.8 m, −18° 39′

March 7

Distance

Age

Apparent size

Magnitude

2,000 light years

40″

7.7

Nicknamed the “Ghost of Jupiter” since it is about the same apparent size as Jupiter, this galaxy’s central star (mag. 12.1), visible in amateur telescopes, has a surface temperature of about 60,000 K and has a mass less than half that of our Sun. The bright inner ring (with a diameter of about 20″–30″) visible in large amateur telescopes is expanding at about 25 km/s and has an actual diameter of a few tenths of a light year. This ring is thought to be part of an inner ellipsoidal shell. In professional telescopes, the NW and SW edges of the inner ring have fast, low-ionization emission regions (“FLIERS” – see NGC 7662). In professional telescopes, the nebula extends out in an elliptical outer shell containing multiple outer rings.

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