Medusa Nebula
The Medusa Nebula is a planetary nebula in the constellation of Gemini. It is also known as Abell 21 and Sharpless 2-274. It was originally discovered in 1955 by University of California, Los Angeles astronomer George O. Abell, who classified it as an old planetary nebula. With the computation of expansion velocities and the thermal character of the radio emission, Soviet astronomers in 1971 concluded that it was most likely a planetary nebula. As the nebula is so large, its surface brightness is very low, with surface magnitudes of between +15.99 and +25 reported.
The central star of the planetary nebula is an PG 1159 star.
See also
- Abell Catalog of Planetary Nebulae
- Geminga, Gemini gamma-ray source
- Gemini in Chinese astronomy
- IC 444, reflection nebula
- Messier 35 open cluster
- Cancer Minor (constellation) - Obsolete constellation inside modern Gemini
References
- ^ "MEDUSA – Planetary Nebula". Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ Cutri, R. M.; Skrutskie, M. F.; Van Dyk, S.; Beichman, C. A.; et al. (June 2003). "2MASS All Sky Catalog of point sources". The IRSA 2MASS All-Sky Point Source Catalog, NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive. Bibcode:2003tmc..book.....C.
- ^ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (12 June 2010). "The Medusa Nebula". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ Lozinskaya, T. A. (June 1973). "Interferometry of the Medusa Nebula A21 (YM 29)". Soviet Astronomy. 16: 945. Bibcode:1973SvA....16..945L.
- ^ González-Santamaría, I.; Manteiga, M.; Manchado, A.; Ulla, A.; Dafonte, C.; López Varela, P. (2021). "Planetary nebulae in Gaia EDR3: Central star identification, properties, and binarity". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 656: A51. arXiv:2109.12114. Bibcode:2021A&A...656A..51G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202141916. S2CID 237940344.
External links
- The Sharpless Catalog: Sharpless 274
- APOD picture: The Medusa Nebula
- Images of the Universe: PK 205+14.1 The Medusa Nebula in Gemini