Astr112 Photography Projects, Spring 2005

Owl Nebula, Dan Wiarda

The Owl Nebula is a planetary nebula that is located in the constellation, Ursa Major. The Owl Nebula was discovered in 1781 by a frenchman named Pierre Mechain. It is recognized as a gaseous nebula from the observation of its spectrum, where two spectral lines can be seen. The nebula is located approximately 3 thousand light years from earth.

The name Owl Nebula goes back to Lord Rosse, who first used the name in 1848 while drawing pictures of what he observed in the heavens. The angular size of the Owl Nebula 3.3 by 3.3 arc minutes.

References:
Absolute Astronomy