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The Caldwell Objects

The Caldwell Objects

The Caldwell Objects

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57<br />

another optical illusion? Or did the background<br />

Milky Way fade away under the moonlight to<br />

reveal the galaxy?<br />

<strong>The</strong> tiny (17"-wide) planetary nebula NGC 6818<br />

lies about 35' north-northwest of Barnard's<br />

Galaxy. It appears in the guise of a conspicuous<br />

"star." At 23x one could easily pass over the<br />

magnitude-9.3 glow because its light is so<br />

condensed. But the planetary swells<br />

230<br />

slightly (if you know where to look) with averted<br />

vision. Moderate power brings out the nebula's<br />

nature, showing a bright, dense core surrounded<br />

by a more tenuous and slightly irregular halo. It's<br />

hard to tell if the stars I see close to the planetary<br />

at high power aren't really dense knots in its<br />

gaseous shell. I see no color and no sign of a<br />

central star in NGC 6818, even at high power.<br />

Deep-Sky Companions: <strong>The</strong> <strong>Caldwell</strong> <strong>Objects</strong>

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