62 August 2014 sky & telescope
Going DeepBelow: In addition to being a treasure trove of planetary nebulae, Aquila contains many superb dark nebulae, notably Barnard’s E (B142/3) near the cen-
ter of this plate from Barnard’s Atlas. B333, which harbors PK 46-3.1 nears its southern end, is much less clearly defi ned.
and a 7th-magnitude star ½° west of it for 9th-magnitude
HD 184152 (SAO 124767), a wide double. Roughly 5′ north-
west of the double, I spotted 12.4-magnitude PK 44-5.1
(Kohoutek 3-36) just 45′′ southeast of a 12th-magnitude
star. When I added an O III fi lter at 222×, the nebula over-
powered its companion and yielded a fuzzy disk. For the
second planetary, I aimed almost 3.5° northwest of Mu to
pick up 6.4-magnitude HD 182101 (SAO 124564). About
20 ′ east of that beacon was 12.7-magnitude PK 45-2.1
(Vyssotsky 2-2) — again beside a 12th-magnitude star. Fil-
tering the fi eld brought the nebula forward, though even
at 285× the disk was diffi cult to discern.
My fi nal — and greatest — challenge was PK 46-3.1
(Peimbert 9), an obscure planetary within the dark nebula
B333 about 1° northeast of PK 45-2.1. The dusky cavern
of B333 is roughly 1° north-south and ½° wide, and I was
searching for a 14th-magnitude smudge near its southern
end. I trolled the area at 285× until I hooked a 1′-wide
right triangle comprising the 10.4-magnitude star TYC
1059-1453-1, a 12.5-magnitude star to its north, and a third
star of magnitude 13.0 that marked the right-angle vertex.
Adding the O III killed that faintest star while produc-
ing a tiny disk 40′′ west of it. In the process, the asterism
changed from a tiny right triangle into a somewhat larger
equilateral triangle. Cool!
In the end, my trusty O III fi lter held the diminutive
PK 46-3.1 at magnifi cations as low as 83×. With practice,
I could pick it up unfi ltered with averted vision at 150×.
In fact, all these Aquila planetaries (except Abell 62)
are visible without a fi lter given suffi cient aperture and
magnifi cation. Pick a dark, steady night and give them a
try yourself. ✦Contributing editor Ken Hewitt-White wrote his fi rst Sky &
Te lescop e book review in 1979 and has been a regular con-
tributor since 2000. He observes deep-sky objects under the
dark skies of British Columbia, Canada.Planetary Nebulae in Northern Aquila
Name Alias Mag(v) Size RA Dec.
NGC 6803 PK 46-4.1 11.4 5 ′′ 19 h 31.3m +10° 03 ′
NGC 6804 PK 45-4.1 12.0 62 ′′ × 49 ′′ 19 h 31.6m +9° 14 ′
NGC 6807 PK 42-6.1 12.0 2 ′′ 19 h 34.7m +5° 41 ′
NGC 6852 PK 42-14.1 12.6 28 ′′ 20 h 00.7m +1° 44 ′
NGC 6781 PK 41-2.1 11.4 1.9′ × 1.8′ 19 h 18.5m +6° 32 ′
Abell 62 PK 47-4.1 14.7 2.7′ × 2.5′ 19 h 33.3m +10° 37 ′
PK 44-5.1 K3-36 ~14.5 ~15′′ 19 h 32.6m +7° 28 ′
PK 45-2.1 Vy 2-2 ~13 stellar 19 h 24.4m +9° 54 ′
PK 46-3.1 PB 9 ~14 < 5′′ 19 h 27.8m +10° 24 ′
Data for the NGC objects are from the NGC/IC Project website. Data for the non-NGC objects
are from http://www.blackskies.org; most of the visual magnitudes and sizes listed for these objects
are estimates.Alias
PK 46-4.1
PK 45-4.1
PK 42-6.1
PK 42-14.1
PK 41-2.1
PK 47-4.1
K 3 - 36
Vy 2-2
PB 9Size
5 ′′′′
62 ′′× 49 ′′′′
2 ′′′′
28 ′′′′
1.9′×1. 8 ′- 7 ′× 2. 5 ′
~15′′′′
stellar
< 5 ′′′′
Dec.
+1 0 °° 03 ′
+ 9 °° 14 ′
+ 5 °° 41 ′
+ 1 °° 44 ′
+ 6 °° 32 ′
+1 0 °° 37 ′
+ 7 °° 28 ′
+ 9 °° 54 ′
+10°° 24 ′PK 44-5.1 PK 45-2.1 PK 46-3.1POSS-II / CALTECH / PALOMAR OBSERVATORY (3)