| Abell 74 / Planetary Nebula, type II |
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| R.A. | 21h 16m 52.3s (2000.0) |
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| Dec. | +24°08' 52" (2000.0) |
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| Apparent Size | 13.8' |
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| Real Size | 40 light yrs. |
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| Magnitude | 12.2 |
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| Distance | 2500 light yrs. |
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| Other IDs | PK 72-17.1 |
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In the eastern outskirts of Vulpecula, there lies an extremely faint and aged planetary nebula known as Abell 74.
While not visible to the telescope-aided eye, you can locate it by moving approximately 6 degrees south from ζCyg at the tip of the eastern wing of neighboring Cygnus to the north.
The nebula has an almost circular apparent diameter of about 14 arc minutes and emits red Hα light.
Nevertheless, it bears little contrast with the faint surrounding molecular clouds, and its appearance can only be discerned in long-exposure digital images.
It is estimated to be located at a distance of 2500 light-years with an actual diameter of about 10 light-years.
This image has been cropped with the equivalent focal length of 700mm.
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