| Abell 39 / Planetary nebula, type IIc |
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| R.A. | 16h 27m 33.8s (2000.0) |
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| Dec. | +27°54' 33" (2000.0) |
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| Apparent Size | 2.9' |
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| Real Size | 3.2 light yrs. |
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| Magnitude | 13.7 |
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| Distance | 3800 light yrs. |
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| Other IDs | PK 47+42.1 |
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This is a relatively large planetary nebula, albeit faint, located approximately 4.7 degrees southwest of ζ Herculis in the western part of the constellation.
It has an almost perfect spherical shape with an apparent diameter of 3 arcminutes, and its central star is a white dwarf with a magnitude of 15.6.
Reverse-calculating from the expansion velocity of the gas, the age of this planetary nebula is estimated to be about 11,000 years.
The predominantly ionized oxygen (O III) is responsible for the blueish light emitted by the nebula.
It is estimated to be around 3,800 light-years away from the Solar System, with an actual diameter of about 3 light-years.
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