IC 418 (The Spirograph Nebula)

Planetary Nebula in Lepus the Hare

05 27 28.2
-12 41 49

Mag: 9.7
CS: 10.1

IC 418 is unique in that its one of the few objects in the night sky that can exhibit some distinct colors other than the drab grays and greens we're accustomed too. This is one object that consistently seems to display the most color to the most amount of observers. Disclaimer: Color perception in an object is obviously a subjective matter and its an attribute that is hard to quantify objectively. Your results may vary. (this OOTW has got me to thinking and I'll post a new thread shortly to get us all talking about color in an EP)

Located south of Orion near the northern border of Lepus, IC 418 is 12" across and somewhat comparable in size & brightness to NGC6543 in Draco or NGC6826 in Cygnus. Scopes as small as 4" should pick out IC418 though you'll probably need something larger to make out the color. I've never purposely looked for color in IC418 in anything smaller than a 16", but even in the 16" I was able to make out a ring of color along its circumference.

In my 25" and other larger scopes the true colors of this object come alive. I'm able to see a pink/magenta color along the circumference with a what appears to be a white core. Its this contrast between the core and edge that simply amazes me. No other object I know of has this stark contrast of colors. Simply beautiful!

Now, in the 48" the view becomes unreal. (Is it just me or am I really starting to see a connection between really big glass and incredible, knock your socks off views ) The first time I observed IC418 in the 48" was on the 23rd of February 2009.

At 375x & 488x, faded mottling was visible throughout the core as was the CS. The core is visibly white with the PN exhibiting a bright pink circumference. Pink! Pink! Pink! Wow!.

spirograph_heritage.jpg
(Hubble Heritage-APOD)


ic418.jpg
Here's an image that gives kind of a representation I see in the EP. The core I see isn't quite as large or bright as it is in this image, but the color contrasts are somewhat accurate for me. (Unfortunately I couldn't find a credit for it.)

One last thing. In the above image, you can see what appears to be an extended halo. This isn't anything I've ever observed visually before nor have I ever heard of anyone else seeing it. (I've never known about this until now) I did find this paper on the subject confirming an extended halo around IC418 in the IR. Is this the same halo that's described in the paper? Is it at all visually observable?

And of course,

"GIVE IT A GO AND LET US KNOW"

GOOD LUCK AND GREAT VIEWING!