Planetary nebula in Cepheus
Through a small telescope, the 9th magnitude central star is easy to see, surrounded by a faint nebula that may not be obvious at first. With larger scopes, the oval nebula is seen in much more detail, and the brightest edges on each side give it a "bow tie" shape. Visually, NGC 40 has the blue-green color that is typical of planetary nebulae. This is quite different from the bright pink color that shows up in CCD images like this one. This is due to the different color sensitivities of the human eye and the chip in a CCD camera.
| Magnitude | 10.7 |
| Apparent Size | 0.6' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 3,500 |
| Right Ascension | 0:13.0 |
| Declination | +72 31 |
| Field of View | 28' x 21' |
Image details: Exposure times of 192 minutes luminance and 32 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG STF-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/6.
January 2020