Achernar
(Postmaster)
07/03/09 11:08 AM
Re: NGC 6441

A planetary nebula in NGC-6441? That's a new one for me, but even if that's true, it would be far beyond a small telescope's reach, and probably beyond a large one's too. M-15 and M-22 have planetary nebulae also, and to see the one in M-15 takes a 12-inch or bigger telescope and a magnification of at least 500X to glimpse it. At that, it's hardly one arc-second across, a very tiny object to see. I find a 5 arc-second planetary nebula to be bad enough, but the planetary nebulae in globular clusters are at immense distances and almost impossible to see visually. NGC-6441 is a highly condensed globular that is also poorly placed for observers in the U.S. The low elevation means bad seeing near the horizon will probably make seeing it impossible even if you had a large telescope at your disposal. NGC-6441 is a remarkable object however, I came across it by accident, and was very surprised at how bright it is. Scorpius has three planetary nebulae that turned out to be easier to see with a 10-inch than I thought despite their low elevation as seen from the U.S. NCG-6153, 6302 and 6072 are fairly easy with nebula filters under less than perfect skies. Also, take a look at NGC-6388, another bright and condensed globular cluster in the same area.

Taras



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