Globular Cluster NGC 6712 + PNs IC 1295, Kohoutek 4-8

NGC 6712 + IC 1295
NGC 6712 + IC 1295: Globular cluster NGC 6712 and planetary nebula IC 1295. Section from DSS2 [147]

Globular Cluster NGC 6712

On 16 June 1784 the German-British astronomer William Herschel discovered an object that he thought was a «bright nebula» and cataloged it as I 47. He described it as «bright, very large, irregularly faint, easily resolvable stars visible» [463] Herschels son John cataloged the object in 1864 as GC 4441 (h 3762) and recognized it as a globular cluster. [467] John L. E. Dreyer added the globular cluster as NGC 6712 to his famous catalogue. [313]

NGC 6712 is a tidally disrupted globular cluster containing more then 60'000 stars. The reddening of the cluster due to interstellar matter is estimated as E(B − V) = 0.35 ± 0.04 from the RRab stars colour curves. The mean distance is 8.1 ± 0.2 kpc and the age is estimated to 12 billion years. [547]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation NGC 6712
Type GCL (IX)
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 18h 53m 04.3s
Declination (J2000.0) -08° 42' 20"
Diameter 9.8 arcmin
Visual magnitude 8.1 mag
Metric Distance 6.900 kpc
Dreyer Description globular, pB, vL, irr, vglbM, rrr
Identification, Remarks WH I 47; h 3762; GC 4441; GCL 103
IC 1295
IC 1295: Image taken with Very Large Telescope (VLT) in the Atacama desert in Chile. © ESO [546]

Planetary Nebula IC 1295

This nebula was discovered on 28 August 1867 by the American astronomer Truman Safford using the 18.5" refractor at the Dearborn Observatory in Chicago. He added it as number 82 to his list of discoveries which he published in 1887 as an appendix to the Dearborn Observatory Report for 1885 and 1886. Dreyer was unaware of these discoveries until he had finished preparation of his «New General Catalogue». He added his discoveries as an appendix with the description: «pretty bright, prettly large, gradually brighter in the middle.» [277, 313] In 1895 Dreyer added the nebula as IC 1295. [314]

In 1919 Heber Doust Curtis did a survey of nebulae at the Lick Observatory and identified IC 1295 as a planetary nebula. He described his discovery with: «Exceedingly faint; a faint, hazy ring about 2' x 1.5' in p. a. 90° ±. The central portions are relatively vacant, and it is fainter along and at the ends of the major axis. There are three faint stars at the center, of which one is probably the central star.» [544]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation IC 1295
Type PN
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 18h 54m 37.1s
Declination (J2000.0) -08° 49' 35"
Diameter 1.5 arcmin
Photographic (blue) magnitude 15.0 mag
Visual magnitude 12.5 mag
Metric Distance 1.454 kpc
Dreyer Description pB, pL, gbM
Identification, Remarks PK 25-4.2; CS=15.0
IC 1295 + Kohoutek 4-8
IC 1295 + Kohoutek 4-8: Section from PanSTARRS/DR1 Color [147]

Planetary Nebula Kohoutek 4-8

This small planetary nebula was discovered in 1964 by L. Kohoutek during the «Hamburg Schmidt-camera survey of faint planetary nebulae». [545] There seems to be no detailed study available for this probably young PN. It is so small, it looks like a blue star on photographs. Simbad lists the following magnitudes measured for different bands: J 14.792, H 14.802, K 13.946. [145]

«Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae» Acker et al., 1992 [141]
Designations PN G025.3-04.6: K 4- 8, PK 25-04.1, Sa 2-374
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 18h 54m 20s
Declination (J2000.0) -08° 53' 32"
Dimensions 0." (optical)
Discoverer KOHOUTEK 1964

Finder Chart

The globular cluster NGC 6712 and planetary nebula IC 1295 can be found in the constellation Scutum. They are best visible in the months April to September.

Finder Chart Globular Cluster NGC 6712 + PNs IC 1295, Kohoutek 4-8
Globular Cluster NGC 6712 + PNs IC 1295, Kohoutek 4-8 in constellation Scutum. 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]

Objects Within a Radius of 10°

References

  • [141] Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae; A. Acker, F. Ochsenbein, B. Stenholm, R. Tylenda, J. Marcout, C. Schohn; European Southern Observatory; ISBN 3-923524-41-2 (1992); Bibcode:1992secg.book.....A; cdsarc.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/V/84
  • [145] SIMBAD astronomical database; simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad
  • [147] Aladin Lite; aladin.unistra.fr/AladinLite
  • [149] SkySafari 6 Pro, Simulation Curriculum; skysafariastronomy.com
  • [160] The STScI Digitized Sky Survey; archive.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_form
  • [277] «Historische Deep-Sky Kataloge» von Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke; klima-luft.de/steinicke (2021-02-17)
  • [313] «A New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, being the Catalogue of the late Sir John F.W. Herschel, Bart., revised, corrected, and enlarged» Dreyer, J. L. E. (1888); Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society. 49: 1–237; Bibcode:1888MmRAS..49....1D
  • [314] «Index Catalogue of Nebulæ found in the years 1888 to 1894, with Notes and Corrections to the New General Catalogue» Dreyer, J. L. E.; Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 51, p.185; 1895; Bibcode:1895MmRAS..51..185D
  • [463] «Catalogue of one thousand new nebulae and clusters of stars» William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1786; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1786.0027
  • [467] «Catalogue of nebulae and clusters of stars» John Frederick William Herschel, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1 January 1864; DOI:10.1098/rstl.1864.0001; jstor.org/stable/108864
  • [544] «Three New Planetary Nebulae» Heber D. Curtis; Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 31, Number 183, 1919; DOI:10.1086/122883; Bibcode:1919PASP...31..285C
  • [545] «Hamburg Schmidt-camera survey of faint planetary nebulae» Kohoutek, L.; Bulletin of the Astronomical Institute of Czechoslovakia, vol. 16, p.221, 1965; Bibcode:1965BAICz..16..221K
  • [546] eso1317 — Photo Release: A Ghostly Green Bubble. ESO's VLT snaps a planetary nebula; eso.org/public/news/eso1317 (2022-10-03)
  • [547] «NGC 6712: the variable star population of a tidally disrupted globular cluster» D Deras, A Arellano Ferro, C Lázaro, I H Bustos Fierro, J H Calderón, S Muneer, Sunetra Giridhar; Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 493, Issue 2, April 2020, Pages 1996–2014; DOI:10.1093/mnras/staa196