NGC 1501 -- Planetary Nebula in Camelopardis
The Camel’s Eye
Just a degree south of Kimble’s Cascade is the Planetary Nebula NGC 1501. At a
magnitude around 11, I needed a nebula filter to see it from Alpha Ridge Park (a darker
site than my house) with the 110mm refractor. With the nebula filter the Planetary Nebula
did not prove difficult to locate. The magnitude 14 central star could not be seen through
my telescope. At higher power (220x) the center of the nebula looked darker with a subtle
bumpy ring around it. After returning home with my drawing and then looking at the Hubble
Space Telescope’s stunning photo of NGC 1501, it was hard to believe that they were the
same object. The only gratification that I can take from comparing the two is that at least
mine looks more like a camel’s eye than the Hubble Space Telescope photo does. Does
that mean I win?
magnitude around 11, I needed a nebula filter to see it from Alpha Ridge Park (a darker
site than my house) with the 110mm refractor. With the nebula filter the Planetary Nebula
did not prove difficult to locate. The magnitude 14 central star could not be seen through
my telescope. At higher power (220x) the center of the nebula looked darker with a subtle
bumpy ring around it. After returning home with my drawing and then looking at the Hubble
Space Telescope’s stunning photo of NGC 1501, it was hard to believe that they were the
same object. The only gratification that I can take from comparing the two is that at least
mine looks more like a camel’s eye than the Hubble Space Telescope photo does. Does
that mean I win?