NGC 7048 (Cygnus)
Fig. 1 - A ghostly circular glow of light buried in the rich star fields of the Milky Way: NGC 7048 in Cygnus, photographed with a 16-inch f/4.5 Dob on an equatorial platform.
| Object name: | Constellation: | Coordinates: | Apparent size: | Visual brightness: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 7048 | Cygnus | 24h14m / +46°17' | 1.02' x 1.02' | 12.1 mag |
The planetary nebula NGC 7048 (PK 88-1.1) in the constellation Cygnus. NGC 7048 is a glowing gaseous shell thrown off by a star during the final stage of its evolution. From its rather low surface brightness, it is thought to be one of the more evolved planetary nebulaes - with an estimated age of 67,000 to 81,000 years. NGC 7048 is roughly 5,900 light-years from Earth and was discovered by French astronomer Édouard Stephan in 1878 (source: Wikipedia / Xuan Fang et al 2018, Astrophysical Journal, Volume 859 Number 2).
Exposure time: 1h 12min (24x3min) at gain 100 taken on August 9 / 10, 2021, were added for this shot with the Astro Pixel Processor (APP) software and the final image processing was done in Photoshop. Darks, flats and darkflats were used.
Equipment: Cooled ASI 2600MC Pro camera, TeleVue Paracorr Type II coma corrector, 16" f/4.5 "Ninja" dobsonian telescope riding on a dual-axis Tom Osypowski equatorial platform, Lacerta MGEN autoguider, Lacerta off axis system.
Field of view comparison: image of the moon with the same equipment.
Fig. 2 - Search chart for NGC 7048. Copyright 2025 'The Mag-7 Star Atlas Project', www.siaris.net. Map is slightly modified (NGC 7048 can't be found on the original map).