Deep Sky Object in Summer
Sh2-68 (Planetary Nebula in Serpens Cauda)


Click on image to enlarge

Date & Time: Apr 29 2020, from 24:33 to 26:39 JST(+0900)
Composed 23 shots with 5 minutes exposed
Optical: TAKAHASHI 16cm(6.3") epsilon (f=530mm, F3.3)
with IDAS LPS-V4 Light-pollution suppression filter
Auto-guided with TAKAHASHI EM-200 Equatorial & Lacerta M-GEN
Digital Camera: Canon EOS 6D (Remodeled)
Location: Hitachi-oota city, Ibaraki pref.

Camera Settings: Recording Format...14bit CCD-RAW, converted to 16bit TIFF(5472×3648)
Device Size...36×24mm, Sensitivity...ISO1600



Sh2-68 / Planetary Nebula
R.A.18h 25m 01.3s (2000.0)
Dec.+00°52' 18" (2000.0)
Apparent Size7.0'
Real SizeN/A
Magnitude10.0
DistanceN/A
Other IDsLBN 93, PK 30+6.1
This image shows you Sh2-68 bathed in the western side of Milky Way, about 4 degrees north of eta Serpentis Cauda. The nebula has a size of about 7 arc minutes, classed as comparatively larger planetary nebula. It's considered that the nebula was formed at least 40 thousand years ago, very old one in the heavens.
Sh2-68 is emitting the oxygen's greenish light in center and the hydrogen's reddish streak stretched in northeast direction. It's considered that the unique shape has been formed with a central star rapidly moving. A magnified image turned the north direction rightward looks like a human's face. The figure gave a nickname of the "Flaming Skull Nebula".
This image has been cropped with an equivalent focal length of 700mm.


Magnified image of Sh2-68 Magnified image of Sh2-68




Sh2-59, Sh2-60

Sh2-71


Copyright(c) 2020 by Naoyuki Kurita, All rights reserved.
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