NGC 6894 is a planetary nebula in Cygnus, about 5,000 light-years from Earth, and is small to medium in both size and brightness. It is almost perfectly round and is annular, by which I mean it is a ring. When compared with M 57, NGC 6894 is about half the size and half the brightness, but it in any case a very nice object.
NGC 6894 was discovered by William Herschel on July 17th, 1784 (see Steve Gottlieb’s notes for more detailed information).
While doing my due diligence on this object I came across a nice article by Phil Plait, here, which talks about the interaction of NGC 6894 with the Interstellar Medium (ISM). This article also includes a link to the original paper. I found it to be a fascinating read. It also includes some spectacular photos of this very interesting object. I'm wondering if anyone has glimpsed those parallel clouds visually. I didn't know about them previously, but I'll take a look next time I'm out! You just never know what you might see, if you look!
There are several nice pictures of this guy on the internet, but none are as good as Adam Block’s…
In my own 25” f/5 Obsession several years ago I had a great view while attending the Golden State Star Party in northern California. The annular aspect of the nebula was obvious but variable, and the dark center was prominent, and the NPB filter improved the view quite a bit. It was a pleasant surprise and I plan on revisiting this object sometime down the road.
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