Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Hercules (Her)
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Abell 39, Roberto Marinoni
Abell 39
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Abell 39, Roberto Marinoni
Abell 39
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Description

Abell 39 is a planetary nebula visible in the constellation Hercules.
It is one of the largest planetary nebulae in our Milky Way, with a diameter of 5 light years and a distance of 7000 light years; studies on the nebula indicate that it contains about half of the oxygen present in the Sun.
The central star has magnitude 15.7 and is evolving towards a very hot white dwarf; one particolarity is that it is slightly west of center by about 2″ or 0.1 light-years.
This offset does not appear to be due to interaction with the interstellar medium, but instead, it is hypothesized that a small asymmetric mass ejection has accelerated the central star.
The offset of the central star could also explain the irregularities in the surface brightness seen across the face of the shell.
In this image very distant background galaxies can be found , some visible right through the nebula itself.
(info from Wikipedia/APOD)

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