Planetary Nebula IC 5117

IC 5117: Planetary nebula in Cygnus; 500 mm Cassegrain f=5800 mm f/11.4; SBIG STL11K; 50+50+50+50 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2005 Radek Chromik

History

The planetary nebula IC 5117 was discovered in 1905 by the Scottish-American astronomer Williamina Fleming. Dreyer described the nebula in his 1910 second index catalog as «planetary, stellar». [196, 315]

Physical Properties

In fact, with an angular extent of only 1.2 arcseconds, the PN can hardly be distinguished from a star. The apparent brightness measured in different filters: V 16.7 mag, J 11.3 mag, H 10.7 mag, K 9.5 mag.

IC 5117 is a very young and compact planetary nebula. The gas surrounding the central star is still very dense with 90'000 molecules per cubic centimeter and very hot with a temperature of 12'000 Kelvin. The central star is estimated to have a temperature of 120'000 Kelvin. The distance is estimated to be 3 kpc (about 9700 light years). Exact measurements are not available. [337]

«Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae» Acker et al., 1992 [141]
DesignationsPN G089.8-05.1: IC 5117, PK 89-05.1, ARO 112, VV 266, VV' 552
Right Ascension (J2000.0)21h 32m 31s
Declination (J2000.0)+44° 35' 48"
Dimensions 1.2" (optical), 1.5" (radio)
Distance 2.5 kpc
Radial Velocity-26.1 km/s ± 1.3 km/s
Expansion Velocity 16.5 km/s (O-III), 21.5 km/s (N-II)
C-Star DesignationsAG82 431, CSI +44-21305 0, EM* CDS 1256, HD 205211
C-Star Magnitude17.5 mag (B filter), 16.7 mag (V filter)
C-Star Spectral TypeWR
DiscovererFLEMING 1905

Finder Chart

The planetary nebula IC 5117 is located in the constellation Cygnus (Swan). The best observation time is September to February

Finder Chart Planetary Nebula IC 5117
Planetary Nebula IC 5117 in constellation Cygnus. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

Visual Observation

Description pending ...

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References