Planetary Nebula NGC 6772
History
The planetary nebula was discovered by William Herschel on 21st July 1784 using his 18.7" reflecting telescope. He cataloged it as IV 14 (class IV = planetary nebula) and noted: «Very faint of equal light. resolvable 1' diameter in the midst of numberless stars of the milky way» [463] J. L. E. Dreyer listed it 1888 as NGC 6772 in his famous «New General Catalogue» [313]
Physical Properties
NGC 6772 is with a dynamical age of circa 11'000 years one of the older planetary nebulae. It's morphology is that of an elliptical shell with apparent distortion along the north-east to south-west axis. This structure may be a result of interactions between the expanding shell and the interstellar medium (ISM) [538]
| Designations | PN G033.1-06.3: NGC 6772, PK 33-06.1, ARO 102, Sa 2-384, VV 224, VV' 486 |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 19h 14m 28s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | -02° 42' 26" |
| Dimensions | 64." (optical), 90." (radio) |
| Distance | 1.3 : kpc |
| Radial Velocity | 0.0 ± 4.0 km/s |
| Expansion Velocity | 10.2 (O-III) 25. (N-II) km/s |
| C-Star Designations | AG82 355 |
| C-Star Magnitude | B: 19.02, V: 18.68 |
| Discoverer | PICKERING 1879 |
Finder Chart
The planetary nebula NGC 6772 is located in the constellation Aquila. On 9 July it is in opposition to the Sun and crosses the meridian at local midnight. The best time to observe it is during the months of February to December.
