 At
first glance the 9th magnitude central star of this
planetary nebula all but drowns out the surrounding
nebulosity. This is particularly
true on those cold winter nights when Taurus is high in the
sky and the bright stars take on halos. The roundish
glow surrounding this star can look like just another
halo. Because it can be so easily overlooked the trick
to finding this one is to first identify the 9th magnitude
central star. This star is the center of three 9th
magnitude stars that make a nearly straight line.
These three stars are obvious at low power.
It is when the
magnification is increased that the nebula becomes more
apparent. In my 6-inch I could make out a round glow
at 133x. I found the best view in my 18-inch to be at
166x, where a very faint haze with hints of structure can be
glimpsed without a filter. An OIII or UHC filter
really brings this one out. With the OIII in place a
dark center appeared and blotchy markings could be glimpsed
in the surrounding, fairly round, nebula. The markings
are no doubt the dark patches seen in the image at the
right.
In even larger
instruments the nebula is said to appear box shaped and a
faint outer envelope appears. The structure seen in
photographs is readily apparent.
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