Steve Gottlieb
February 12th, 2014, 08:25 PM
Howell-Crisp 1 (HoCr 1)
RA: 06 21 41.0
Dec: +23 35 13
Type: PN candidate (likely)
Size: 50"
Mag: ~15V
Michael Howell "discovered" HoCr 1 in early 2006 as a possible planetary nebula on an image he made of the region surrounding IC 443 and IC 444. Howell's web page (http://www.horizontalheavens.com/planetarynebulaproject.htm) has a number of images of this object. At the same time Richard Crisp, a California amateur, also provided an image (http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/hc1_planetary_page.htm). This object is clearly visible on the DSS, though it had not been analyzed, except for an earlier IRAS detection (IRAS 06185+2336). You'll find it 11' SSW of 7.4-magnitude HD 44251 and 37' ENE of the reflection nebula IC 444.
1086
Dr. George Jacoby, Director of the WIYN Observatory 3.5 meter Telescope at Kitt Peak, Tucson, AZ provided a high-resolution image and it was announced as a possible planetary nebula.
1087
Finally, it was included in the 2010 paper "Searching for Faint Planetary Nebulae Using the Digital Sky Survey" (http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.0465) in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia as a probable or confirmed planetary.
I first viewed this object back in November 2006, along with Mark Wagner and Ray Cash. I'm sure this was among the very first visual sightings. Ray first took a stab at it with his 13-inch using a UHC filter and it was marginal in partially cloudy conditions. I later took a look in my 18" Starmaster when the sky was clear and it was definitely visible, though only seen part of the time at 115x using a DGM Optics NPB filter. It appeared as an extremely low surface brightness hazy spot, perhaps 30" in diameter. A trio of faint stars 1' west pinpointed the location. Mark felt the object had an irregularly round shape with an occasional sharp edge on its SW perimeter.
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up HoCr 1 unfiltered as 200x in my 24-inch f/3.7 Starstructure, though it required knowing the exact location. Adding a NPB filter, it was visible continuously, though very faint, roundish, 30" diameter, low surface brightness. A mag 15 star is at the NE edge.
1088
I'm guessing a 10" to 12" is the minimum aperture to pick up this new planetary, but who knows unless you take a look.
"GIVE IT A GO AND LET US KNOW"
RA: 06 21 41.0
Dec: +23 35 13
Type: PN candidate (likely)
Size: 50"
Mag: ~15V
Michael Howell "discovered" HoCr 1 in early 2006 as a possible planetary nebula on an image he made of the region surrounding IC 443 and IC 444. Howell's web page (http://www.horizontalheavens.com/planetarynebulaproject.htm) has a number of images of this object. At the same time Richard Crisp, a California amateur, also provided an image (http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/hc1_planetary_page.htm). This object is clearly visible on the DSS, though it had not been analyzed, except for an earlier IRAS detection (IRAS 06185+2336). You'll find it 11' SSW of 7.4-magnitude HD 44251 and 37' ENE of the reflection nebula IC 444.
1086
Dr. George Jacoby, Director of the WIYN Observatory 3.5 meter Telescope at Kitt Peak, Tucson, AZ provided a high-resolution image and it was announced as a possible planetary nebula.
1087
Finally, it was included in the 2010 paper "Searching for Faint Planetary Nebulae Using the Digital Sky Survey" (http://arxiv.org/abs/0910.0465) in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia as a probable or confirmed planetary.
I first viewed this object back in November 2006, along with Mark Wagner and Ray Cash. I'm sure this was among the very first visual sightings. Ray first took a stab at it with his 13-inch using a UHC filter and it was marginal in partially cloudy conditions. I later took a look in my 18" Starmaster when the sky was clear and it was definitely visible, though only seen part of the time at 115x using a DGM Optics NPB filter. It appeared as an extremely low surface brightness hazy spot, perhaps 30" in diameter. A trio of faint stars 1' west pinpointed the location. Mark felt the object had an irregularly round shape with an occasional sharp edge on its SW perimeter.
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up HoCr 1 unfiltered as 200x in my 24-inch f/3.7 Starstructure, though it required knowing the exact location. Adding a NPB filter, it was visible continuously, though very faint, roundish, 30" diameter, low surface brightness. A mag 15 star is at the NE edge.
1088
I'm guessing a 10" to 12" is the minimum aperture to pick up this new planetary, but who knows unless you take a look.
"GIVE IT A GO AND LET US KNOW"