Planetary Nebula IC 972
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
| 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 August when it is highest at night.
