Observation Notes:
This planetary nebula had a faint outer shell that appeared slightly elongated north-south. There was a brighter inner shill with what seemed to be a two-lobed structure that was aligned southeast to northwest. I didn’t notice any color.
Object Information
NGC 654 was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1790. According to Distances of Planetary Nebula (Phillips+, 2004), this planetary nebula is 1,400 parsecs distant (4,560 light years). The cluster is also catalogued as ESO 560-PN009, PK234+2.1, H IV-64, h 3095, GC 1567, PN G234.8+02.4.
| Subject | NGC 2440 |
| Classification | Planetary Nebula [5(3)] |
| Position* | Puppis [RA: 07:41:55.3 / Dec: -18:12:32] |
| Size* | 74″ x 42″ |
| Brightness* | 9.4 vMag. / 10.8 bMag |
| Date/Time | October 22, 2006 – 03:00 AM (October 22, 2006 – 10:00 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Cinder Hills Overlook, Sunset Crater National Monument, AZ |
| Instrument | Orion SVP 6LT Reflector (150 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | 10 mm + 2X Barlow (240X) |
| Conditions | Clear, Calm |
| Seeing | 6/10 |
| Transparency | Mag 6.8+ NELM |
| *Sources | NGC/IC Project |
*Based on published data.