Little Ghost Nebula Explained

Little Ghost Nebula, also known as NGC 6369, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by William Herschel.^[1]

Round and planet-shaped, the nebula is also relatively faint. The high energy radiation from the central white dwarf causes the surrounding nebula to emit light.^[2] The nebula's main ring structure is about a light-year across and the glow from ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms are colored blue, green, and red respectively.

The Little Ghost Nebula should not be confused with the Ghost Nebula (Sh2-136) or the Ghost Head Nebula (NGC 2080).

The central star of the planetary nebula has a spectral type of [WO3], indicating a spectrum similar to that of an oxygen-rich Wolf–Rayet star.^[3] An analysis of Gaia data suggests that the it may be a binary system.^[4] The central star was monitored by Kepler, but it was not found to be variable.^[5]

References

• NGC 6369

External links

• • Little Ghost Nebula data sheet, altitude charts, sky map and related objects - Deep Sky Objects Browser
• Little Ghost Nebula amateur astrophotography - Deep Sky Objects Browser

Notes and References

1. 8 November 2002 . NGC 6369: The Little Ghost Nebula . 2010-07-02.
2. Web site: NGC 6369: Little Ghost Nebula . . NASA . April 25, 2021 . July 12, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230712005010/https://science.nasa.gov/ngc-6369-little-ghost-nebula . dead .
3. 10.1051/0004-6361/202141916. Planetary nebulae in Gaia EDR3: Central star identification, properties, and binarity. 2021. González-Santamaría. I.. Manteiga. M.. Manchado. A.. Ulla. A.. Dafonte. C.. López Varela. P.. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 656. A51. 2109.12114. 2021A&A...656A..51G. 237940344.
4. 10.1051/0004-6361/202140288. Towards a more complete sample of binary central stars of planetary nebulae with Gaia. 2021. Chornay. N.. Walton. N. A.. Jones. D.. Boffin. H. M. J.. Rejkuba. M.. Wesson. R.. Astronomy & Astrophysics. 648. A95. 2101.01800. 2021A&A...648A..95C. 230770301.
5. 10.1093/mnras/stab2045. 2104.07934. Binary central stars of planetary nebulae identified with Kepler/K2. 2021. Jacoby. George H.. Hillwig. Todd C.. Jones. David. Martin. Kayla. De Marco. Orsola. Orsola De Marco. Kronberger. Matthias. Hurowitz. Jonathan L.. Crocker. Alison F.. Dey. Josh. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 506. 4. 5223–5246.