NGC 2438

Planetary Nebula NGC 2438

(= H IV.39

= FC 87),

type IV+II,

in Puppis

Right Ascension	07 : 41.8 (h:m)
Declination	-14 : 44 (deg:m)
Distance	2.9 (kly)
Visual Brightness	10.8 (mag)
Apparent Dimension	> 1.1 (arc min)

Planetary nebula NGC 2438 appears superimposed over the open star cluster

M46, although it is certainly no member of the

cluster, but a foreground object (see M46 for

details). It is one of the discoveries of

William Herschel, who cataloged it

as H IV.39.

Our image was obtained by David Malin with the 3.9-meter

Anglo-Australian and is copyrighted ©

Anglo-Australian Observatory.

The image is a 3-color composit created from red, green and blue

photographic plates. The faint central star appears close to a background

star, which is probably a member of M46, as many of the other stars in the

image.

The central star of NGC 2438 is of magnitude 17.5 and exhibits a continuous

spectrum.

Long exposures by David Malin with the Anglo-Australian Telescope have

shown that this planetary has an extended halo.

---

Hartmut Frommert

([email protected])

Christine Kronberg

([email protected])

Last Modification: 26 Apr 1998, 10:25 MET