H-NGC2022
Planetary Nebula in Orion
About
NGC 2022 is a planetary nebula in Orion with a layered shell: a bright inner shell about 18″ across, a fainter shell near 40″, and a halo near 88″ that was reported in 2023. William Herschel logged it on 28 December 1785.
Imaging tips
- At about 1′ across it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- One imager with twin 152 mm refractors at 0.265″ per pixel went after the outer shell during a full Moon: OIII 105 × 300 s, Hα 120 × 300 s, plus luminance and RGB, 22.8 hours in all.
- Brightness falls off outward: the 18″ core shell stands out, while the 40″ shell and 88″ halo are fainter, so extra integration goes to the outer layers.
- At 20.2 mag/arcsec² the nebula is fairly bright, and narrowband suits an emission nebula. Best in December; it peaks near 49° from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 1′
- Magnitude
- 11.6
- Coordinates
- RA 5h 42.1m, Dec +9° 5′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Dec
- Peak altitude
- 49° from 50°N, 64° from 35°N