Medusa Nebula
E536136
Medusa Nebula is a large, faint planetary nebula in the constellation Gemini, known for its filamentary, serpentine structures that inspired its mythological name.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
emission nebula
ⓘ
planetary nebula ⓘ |
| bestObservedIn | late winter ⓘ |
| bestSeenFrom | Northern Hemisphere NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| catalog |
Abell catalog of planetary nebulae
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Perek-Kohoutek catalog of planetary nebulae NERFINISHED ⓘ Sharpless catalog of H II regions NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | George O. Abell NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveryYear | 1955 ⓘ |
| formedFrom | ejected outer layers of a dying star ⓘ |
| hasAge | on the order of tens of thousands of years ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Abell 21
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
PK 205+14.1 ⓘ Sh2-274 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasAngularSize | about 10 arcminutes ⓘ |
| hasApparentMagnitude | ~10.2 ⓘ |
| hasCentralStar | white dwarf ⓘ |
| hasCentralStarSpectralType | hot subdwarf / white dwarf type ⓘ |
| hasColor |
greenish-blue OIII emission
ⓘ
reddish H-alpha emission ⓘ |
| hasDeclination | +13° 15′ ⓘ |
| hasDiscoveryDesignation | Abell 21 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasDistanceFromEarth |
about 1500 light-years
ⓘ
about 460 parsecs ⓘ |
| hasFilamentaryStructure | yes ⓘ |
| hasGalacticLatitude | +14° ⓘ |
| hasGalacticLongitude | 205° ⓘ |
| hasIonizedElements |
hydrogen
ⓘ
nitrogen ⓘ oxygen ⓘ |
| hasMorphologicalType | planetary nebula of old age ⓘ |
| hasNotableFeature |
complex filamentary arcs
ⓘ
serpentine structures resembling snakes of Medusa’s hair ⓘ |
| hasPhysicalNature | ionized gas shell ⓘ |
| hasRightAscension | 07h 29m ⓘ |
| hasSerpentineAppearance | yes ⓘ |
| hasShape | irregular, crescent-like form ⓘ |
| isExtendedSource | yes ⓘ |
| isFaintObject | yes ⓘ |
| locatedIn |
Milky Way
ⓘ
Orion Arm of the Milky Way NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locatedInConstellation | Gemini NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Medusa from Greek mythology NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| requiresForObservation |
dark skies
ⓘ
moderate to large amateur telescope ⓘ |
| visibleIn |
narrowband filters (H-alpha, OIII)
ⓘ
optical wavelengths ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.