NGC 1514

NGC 1514
Observation data
(Epoch J2000)
Right ascension 04h 09m 16.984s[1]
Declination +30° 46 33.47[1]
Distance 2.2 ly (700 pc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (V) 9.43[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 2.2
Constellation Taurus
Physical characteristics
Other designations Crystall Ball Nebula

NGC 1514 is a planetary nebula that was discovered by William Herschel on November 13, 1790, describing it "A most singular phaenomenon" and forcing him to rethink his ideas on the construction of the heavens. Up until this point Herschel was convinced that all nebulae consisted of masses of stars too remote to resolve, but now here was a single star "surrounded with a faintly luminous atmosphere."[3] He went on to conclude "Our judgement I may venture to say, will be, that the nebulosity about the star is not of a starry nature".

It has since been conjectured that the nebula in fact envelops a tightly orbiting double star with a period of up to 10 days. Gas is presumably expanding away from the larger star of the pair.[4]

NGC 1514 is also known as Crystal Ball Nebula.

Notes

  1. ^ Parallax = 5.40 ± 1.70 mas[1]
  1. 1 2 3 4 SIMBAD 2007
  2. Smith, H. (9 April 2015). "On the distances of planetary nebulae" (PDF). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 449 (3): 2980–3005. arXiv:1409.3422. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.449.2980S. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv456.
  3. Herschel 1791
  4. Muthu & Anandarao 2003

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NGC 1514.

Coordinates: 04h 09m 16.984s, +30° 46′ 33.47″


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.