Observation Notes:
The 'Blue Snowball' nebula didn't disappoint, and shone with a subtle cyan-green color when I aimed the Dob at it. It was elongated roughly north-south and had an uneven appearance. The main shell was shaped like a soft, round-edged pentagon. The east side was brightest, while the northwest side opened up to allow a darker intrusion into the nebula's core. This brighter shell appeared to be surrounded by a slim, subtle halo. Although I could not see the central star, another neighboring star paired itself with the snowball, about 1 arc minute to the northeast. The nebula itself appeared to be about 30 arc seconds in diameter.
Object Information:
NGC 7662 was discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1784. It is also cataloged as: PK106-17.1, H IV-18, h 2241, GC 4964, PN G106.5-17.6
| Subject | NGC 7662 |
| Classification* | Planetary Nebula (4(3)) |
| Position* | Andromeda [RA: 23:25:53.93 / Dec: +42:32:06.1] |
| Size* | 32" x 28" |
| Brightness* | 8.3 vMag (9.2 bMag) |
| Date/Time | OCT 29, 2008 - 10:30 PM MST (OCT 30, 2008 - 5:30 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) + 2X Barlow (240X) |
| Conditions | Clear, calm |
| Seeing | 5/10 Pickering |
| Transparency | ~ Mag 6.5 NELM |
| *References | NGCIC.org |
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