Planetary Nebula IC 972
History
This nebula was discovered as J 272 on 25th May 1892 by the French astronomer Stephane Javelle, using the 30 inch f/23 refractor «grande lunette» at the Nice Observatory. Javelle found 1669 nebulae, published in three volumes of the «Annales de l'Observatoire de Nice»; a fourth list was never published. [277] John L. E. Dreyer added the discovery to his first «Index Catalogue» in 1895 as IC 972 with the description: «Faint, very small, round, resolvable.» [314]
In 1955 George Ogden Abell identified IC 972 as a planetary nebula on the POSS photoplates and listed it as number 26 in his first publication and in his second publication of 1966 as number 37. [331, 332]
Physical Properties
| Designations | PN G326.7+42.2: IC 972, PK 326+42.1, A55 26, A 37, VV' 119 |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 14h 04m 26s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | -17° 13' 34" |
| Dimensions | 42." (optical) |
| Radial Velocity | -26.6 km/s ± 4.0 km/s |
| Expansion Velocity | 16.0 km/s (O-III) |
| C-Star Designations | AG82 162 |
| C-Star Magnitude | 17.91 mag (B filter) |
| Discoverer | ABELL 1955 |
Finder Chart
The planetary nebula IC 972 (Abell 37) located in the constellation Virgo. The best time to observe it is January to June when it is highest at night.
Visual Observation
Description pending ...