c15-1 — Hubble · Caldwell 15 · NASA, ESA, B. Balick and J. Alexander (University of Washington), A. Hajian (U.S. Naval Observatory), Y. Terzian (Cornell University), M. Perinotto (University of Florence), and P. Patriarchi (Arcetri Observatory)

Blinking Planetary

Nebula in Cygnus · 3,200 light-years

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Type	Nebula
Constellation	Cygnus
Right ascension	19h 44m 48s
Declination	+50° 32′
Object distance	3,200 light-years
Apparent magnitude	9.4
Apparent size	0.4′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter	0.4 light-years across
Also known as	C15 · NGC 6826

Caldwell 15, popularly known as the Blinking Planetary, is a nebula (NGC 6826) in Cygnus — a luminous cloud of interstellar gas and dust. It appears as number 15 in the Caldwell catalogue, Sir Patrick Moore's 1995 list of 109 bright deep-sky objects for amateur astronomers. It spans roughly 0.4 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 9.4, it shows up in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 0.4′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 0.4 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Blinking Planetary

Blinking Planetary lies in the constellation Cygnus and is best placed in the evening sky around July. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. It is best placed for observers in the northern hemisphere, and sits low for those far south. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

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Sources

Position, magnitude and angular size from the OpenNGC catalogue (Mattia Verga).
Object identity cross-referenced with SIMBAD (CDS, Strasbourg).
Image credits and the original observation source are linked with each photograph.

Related objects

Orion Nebula — nebula
Ring Nebula — nebula
Eagle Nebula — nebula
Carina Nebula — nebula
Lagoon Nebula — nebula