Q613521

Planetary nebula in the constellation Andromeda

Key facts

Right ascension: 23 25 53.832
Declination: +42 ° 32 ′ 05.84 ″
Distance: 5,730 ± 340 ly
Apparent dimensions v: 32″ × 28″
Constellation: Andromeda
Radius: 0.8 ly
Designations: PK 106-17 1, GCRV 14695, PN ARO 20, Blue Snowball Nebula, Snowball Nebula, Caldwell 22

via Wikipedia infobox

Article

NGC 7662 is a planetary nebula located in the northern constellation Andromeda. It is known as the Blue Snowball Nebula, Snowball Nebula, and Caldwell 22. This nebula was discovered October 6, 1784 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel. In the New General Catalogue it is described as a "magnificent planetary or annular nebula, very bright, pretty small in angular size, round, blue, variable nucleus". The object has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.3 and spans an angular size of 32″ × 28″. Parallax measurements give a distance estimate of 5,730 ± 340 ly (1,757 ± 103 pc).

NGC 7662 is a popular planetary nebula for casual observers. A small telescope will reveal a star-like object with slight nebulosity. A 6" telescope with a magnification around 100x will reveal a slightly bluish disk, while telescopes with a primary mirror at least 16" in diameter may reveal slight color and brightness variations in the interior.