OK, let’s move on to the blinking planet. It is commonly called a blinking planet, although many other nebulae exhibit such blinking. Future generations will certainly give this star a different name. You can tell if you have actually found the nebula by increasing the magnification to zoom in on the disk.
At a magnification of 120x or more, the nebula shows a distinct oval shape and a subtle blue-green colour. This star creates the nebula by throwing off its outer layers from its glowing hot central core.
Why is the nebula’s central star so hard to see?
It is one of only 50 known planetars with a central star (usually a white dwarf) that has the spectral properties of a Wolf-Rayet star (usually a highly evolved massive star), but with a mass typical of most planetary central stars. Scientists doing three-dimensional computer modelling of star formation predict that the spinning clouds of collapsing gas and dust may break up into two or three distinct bubbles. To blink a planet, slide the filter back and forth between your eye and eyepiece while looking at the nebula. Interestingly, when the 3rd Earl of Rosse at Birr Castle in Ireland pointed the world’s largest telescope at the owl, he saw a star in both “eye sockets”.
Which constellation is ngc6826?
When viewed through a small telescope, the brightness of the central star overwhelms the eye when viewed directly and obscures the surrounding nebula. This star creates the nebula by throwing off its outer layers from its glowing hot central core. The central white dwarf star in this nebula is one of the brightest central stars in planetary nebulae. However, it can be viewed well with averted vision, causing it to flash repeatedly as the eye wanders around.
It is commonly referred to as a twinkling planet, although many other nebulae also exhibit such twinkling.
How do you find the blinking planetary nebula?
The Blinking Nebula (NGC 682) is a planetary nebula in the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), nicknamed because it seems to disappear when viewed directly through a small telescope, leaving only the central star – one of the brightest of all planets – visible. The Blinking Nebula (NGC682) was so named because when viewed through a small telescope, the nebula appears to blink or disappear as the observer scans the eyepiece. The radius of the Blinking Planetary Nebula is 0.25 light years or, in other words, it has a diameter of 1 light year. If you look directly at this blue-green planetary nebula for several seconds, you will only see the central star.
