Ghost of Jupiter NGC3242



Object Data
Description The Ghost of Jupiter is a beautiful remnant from an ordinary star that has just recently gone through its red giant phases, casting off most of it outer layers of matter, and is now a degenerate white dwarf. The extreme ultraviolet from the hot young stellar corpse is providing the energy to light up the nebula.
Constellation Hydra the Serpent
Right Ascension 10h 24m 56s
Declination -18° 39' 33"
Magnitude 8.6
Angular size 18 arcseconds
Distance 760 parsecs (2,500 light years)
Radial Velocity 4.6 kilometers per second
Image Data
Photographer Fred Lehman
Main Scope Meade 14" LX200GPS @ f/10 (3556mm)
Guide Scope Celestron 5" SCT @ f/7.5 (950mm)
Guide Camera SBIG STV
Imaging Camera Starlight Xpress MX7C
Resolution 780 x 580 @ 0.5 arcseconds per pixel
Exposure Twenty-one exposures of one minute each. Aligned, stacked, and processed with AstroArt.
Date April 16, 2004
Location Area 51 in Big Cypress National Preserve in central South Florida.


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