Object of the Week, March 13, 2022: Abell 5 in Perseus
Object of the Week, March 13, 2022: Abell 5 in Perseus
Ancient Planetary Nebula
RA: 02h 52m 12s
Dec: +50 36’
Size: 134 x 121”
Mag: >16p
For this week’s OOTW, I’ll present a “challenging” object of the week. I say “challenging” this time as this one of the two Abell Planetaries that I have never observed in any aperture. I’ve tried at least 5 times with my 22” reflector under NELM as dark as 7.0 using various magnifications from 75 to just under 300, and with and without the O-III and UHC filters.
The primary visible color of this object is reddish, which could be one of the reasons why it is very difficult to see. See Kevin’s image here. He noted that the O-III is extremely faint, which adds to the difficulty to see it visually with the O-III filter. Maybe a broadband filter may help. Here is another image by Jerry.
There are two known observations that I’m aware of. One by fellow OOTW contributor, Uwe Glahn and other by Eric Honeycutt. I’m sure that a few of you saw it and we would like to hear about it. Eric saw it probably a couple decades ago, no date was given on his notes. He used a 22” Starmaster and he observes from Georgia. I’m not sure what his conditions were, but his notes are “A faint ring with 118x and an O-III. Takes a bit to find it but pretty easy once spotted. Ring structure is evident. Stars are visible within nebby. Difficult.”
It may be falling after sunset, but should be high enough for you to take a shot at it, so let us know!
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