This planetary nebula is variously known as the Eskimo Nebula or the Clown Face Nebula. This nebula, now designated as NGC 2392, was discovered in 1787 by William Herschel. The nebula is formed by an expanding shell of gas thrown off explosively by a dying star. The gasses forming the nebula fluoresce as a result of ultraviolet radiation from the 10th magnitude central star. The central star is one of the brightest known in any planetary nebula. The nebula is located about 3000 light-years away. The nebula has a diameter that is approximately 36,000 times the size of our Earth's orbit around the Sun. The gasses of the nebula are expanding at a radial velocity of about 68 miles per second.
This is an RGB composite CCD image taken with an SBIG ST-8E CCD at prime focus on a Takahashi FCT-150 refractor with a PowerMate operating at approximately f28. The images were acquired and processed with MaxIm DL/CCD. This image was taken from my backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona.
NGC 2392
Constellation: Gemini
RA: 07h 29m 18.3s Dec: +20d 54' 47"
January 23, 2005
Image by Sid Leach
Scottsdale, Arizona
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