Planetary Nebula IC 972

IC 972
IC 972: Section of DSS2 color [147]

History

This nebula was discovered as J 272 on 25 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

«Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae» Acker et al., 1992 [141]
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 ± 4.0 km/s
Expansion Velocity 16.0 (O-III) km/s
C-Star Designations AG82 162
C-Star Magnitude B: 17.91
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.

Finder Chart Planetary Nebula IC 972
Planetary Nebula IC 972 in constellation Virgo. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References