C22 · planetary nebula

Blue Snowball Nebula

NGC 7662 is a planetary nebula located in the northern constellation Andromeda.

RA23h 25m 53sDec+42° 32' 05"

Image: NASA Hubble. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Identity & coordinates

Identification

Primary designation: C22
All designations: C22 · NGC 7662 · Blue Snowball Nebula
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Constellation: Andromeda
Best viewing: Autumn · Winter

Coordinates & physical

Right ascension (J2000): 23h 25m 53s
Declination (J2000): +42° 32' 05"
Apparent magnitude (V): —
Distance: —
Redshift (z): 0.000714

III

Visibility tonight

The science

NGC 7662 is a planetary nebula located in the northern constellation Andromeda. It is known as the Blue Snowball Nebula, Snowball Nebula, and Caldwell 22. This nebula was discovered October 6, 1784 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel. In the New General Catalogue it is described as a "magnificent planetary or annular nebula, very bright, pretty small in angular size, round, blue, variable nucleus". The object has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.3 and spans an angular size of 32″ × 28″. Parallax measurements give a distance estimate of 5,730 ± 340 ly (1,757 ± 103 pc).

Summary adapted from Wikipedia · CC-BY-SA-4.0