NGC 6369 -- Planetary Nebula in Ophiuchus
A Little Ghost in a Dark Cloud
The Planetary Nebula, NGC 6369, is commonly referred to as the “Little Ghost Nebula”. This
pale annular nebula sits between us and B77 (one of Barnard’s named Dark Clouds). This
results in the little planetary nebula appearing in a nearly starless background even though it is
in the heart of the Milky Way stream.
The Little Ghost glows faintly from ionized oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms excited by a
central star too faint for my small refractor to see. A nebula filter (OIII) helped in finding the
nebula in the telescope but did not bring out any additional detail. Even in the small refractor
one can see the flatten ringed shape of the planetary at a healthy magnification. I thought I was
picking up a slight greenish color (without the filter) for the nebula but was never 100% sure.
pale annular nebula sits between us and B77 (one of Barnard’s named Dark Clouds). This
results in the little planetary nebula appearing in a nearly starless background even though it is
in the heart of the Milky Way stream.
The Little Ghost glows faintly from ionized oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms excited by a
central star too faint for my small refractor to see. A nebula filter (OIII) helped in finding the
nebula in the telescope but did not bring out any additional detail. Even in the small refractor
one can see the flatten ringed shape of the planetary at a healthy magnification. I thought I was
picking up a slight greenish color (without the filter) for the nebula but was never 100% sure.