NGC 1501

Observation Notes:

This planetary nebula was a nice detour after traveling along Kemble’s Cascade and the sparkling splash of NGC 1502. It was readily evident as a soft disc at 48X. At 120X, it had a very slight aqua tint. I found it too faint to examine well at 240X, so I kept it to 120X. Averted vision revealed a thick, subtle annular shape. The southwest edge was brighter and the northeast edge seemed to have two brighter knots. The northwest side appeared somewhat flattened. I saw no evidence of a central star.

Object Information:

NGC 1501 was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1787. The planetary lies roughly 5000 light years away and is about 1.4 light years in diameter. It possesses a 14.5 magnitude Wolfe-Rayet star at its heart. It is also cataloged as: PK144+6.1, H IV-53, GC 801, PN G144.5+06.5

Subject NGC 1501
Classification* Planetary Nebula (3)
Position* Camelopardalis [RA: 04:06:59.41 / Dec: +60:55:14.5]
Size* 56″ x 48″
Brightness* 11.5 vMag (13.3 bMag)
Date/Time OCT 30, 2008 – 12:10 AM MST (OCT 30, 2008 – 7:10 UT)
Observing Loc. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA – Home
Instrument Orion SkyQuest XT8 (203 mm dia./1200 mm F/L)
Eyepieces/Mag. 10 mm Sirius Plössl (120X)
Conditions Clear, calm
Seeing 5/10 Pickering
Transparency ~ Mag 6.5 NELM
*References NGCIC.org, Deep Sky Companions: Hidden Treasures, S. J. O’Meara

3 Replies to “NGC 1501”

  1. Hey Jeremy, hope all is well. Your work is so good that ine almost thinks that its a B&W image…another fabulous sketch.
    regards,
    Tony

  2. Hey Jeremy, hope all is well. Your work is so good that ine almost thinks that its a B&W image…another fabulous sketch. In fact, I had it in the eye piece just about an hour ago…there is no difference between the sketch and what I saw…
    regards,
    Tony

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