NGC 2392 (Eskimo Nebula) -- Planetary Nebula in Gemini
Last night was the first clear night in a while. The transparency was very good, and the
moon would not be a problem until after midnight. The winds were a bit much, but I was
protected by the house from the worst of them, besides the heavy G11 mount is pretty
much immune to wind. The atmosphere was unsteady for the first few hours of the night,
so high power views were limited. Open Clusters were the choice for the current night’s
weather conditions.
Around 11:00 pm a few clouds started appearing, but the atmosphere had settled down
considerably – good enough for me to up the magnification and switch to the Eskimo
Planetary Nebula. I was very pleased with the view, so the above drawing was made. By
the time I was finished with the drawing, the clouds were winning over the sky and I called
it a night.
The Eskimo Nebula gets its name from a Hubble Telescope image taken of the Planetary
Nebula. In smaller telescopes one cannot see the head of a Celestial Eskimo, but the
planetary nebula still shows a good amount of detail. It handles high power well since it is
so bright (for a planetary nebula). And unlike most planetary nebulae, the Eskimo has an
easy to see central star. Through the 155mm refractor I finally settled on a magnification
of 312x. The higher magnification brought out the dual-ringed nature of the Eskimo. A
truly stunning object and a satisfying way to end the observing session.
moon would not be a problem until after midnight. The winds were a bit much, but I was
protected by the house from the worst of them, besides the heavy G11 mount is pretty
much immune to wind. The atmosphere was unsteady for the first few hours of the night,
so high power views were limited. Open Clusters were the choice for the current night’s
weather conditions.
Around 11:00 pm a few clouds started appearing, but the atmosphere had settled down
considerably – good enough for me to up the magnification and switch to the Eskimo
Planetary Nebula. I was very pleased with the view, so the above drawing was made. By
the time I was finished with the drawing, the clouds were winning over the sky and I called
it a night.
The Eskimo Nebula gets its name from a Hubble Telescope image taken of the Planetary
Nebula. In smaller telescopes one cannot see the head of a Celestial Eskimo, but the
planetary nebula still shows a good amount of detail. It handles high power well since it is
so bright (for a planetary nebula). And unlike most planetary nebulae, the Eskimo has an
easy to see central star. Through the 155mm refractor I finally settled on a magnification
of 312x. The higher magnification brought out the dual-ringed nature of the Eskimo. A
truly stunning object and a satisfying way to end the observing session.