NGC 2818 - Planetary Nebula

NGC 2818 is a planetary nebula located in the southern constellation Pyxis, the Compass. This planetary nebula is relatively small, measuring only 60″ by 30″. Given its size, I thought that drizzling the data and scaling the result by a factor of two might enhance its visibility. Otherwise, it is crazy small. Just look at the size of the stars next to the planetary nebula (PN) for comparison.

 

I used Luminance (Lum), Red, Green, Blue, O III, and Hα filters to create this colour image. I wanted to retain that wonderful teal colouring found in many PN. Often, the teal colouration is lost by reducing the green channel, resulting in a dominant blue hue. In my view, the accurate teal coloration is aesthetically preferable.

 

The nebula consists of ionized gas expelled by a dying star in the final stages of its evolution. Its complex three-dimensional morphology includes a bipolar component, filamentary structures, and a knotty central region. Advanced 3D modeling has revealed that the nebula's expansion velocities vary across its components, with the equatorial region expanding at approximately 70 km/s, the bipolar lobes at 120 km/s, and the filamentary structures at about 180 km/s.

 

The central star of NGC 2818 is expected to cool and fade over billions of years, ultimately becoming a white dwarf. This process offers insights into the future evolution of our own Sun, which is anticipated to undergo similar stages, shedding its outer layers to form a planetary nebula.

 

Instruments:

 

Telescope: 10" Ritchey-Chrétien RCOS

Camera: SBIG STXL-11000 Mono

Mount: Astro-Physics AP-900

Focal Length: 2310.00 mm

Pixel size: 9.00 um

Resolution: 0.82 arcsec/pix

 

Exposures:

Lum 33 X 600

Red 24 X 380

Green 24 X 380

Blue 24 X 380

Ha 60 X1200

OIII 38 X1200

Total exposure: 45.76 Hours

 

Thanks for looking

 

 

 

Done