Lemon Slice Nebula
| Nebula | |
|---|---|
|
Image of IC 3568 based on HST data | |
| Observation data: epoch | |
| Right ascension | 12h 33m 06s |
| Declination | +82°34’00” |
| Distance | Roughly 4.5 kly ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.3 |
| Constellation | Camelopardalis |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | Core: 0.4 ly ly |
| Designations | IC 3568 |
IC 3568 is a planetary nebula that is 1.3 kiloparsecs (4500 ly) away from Earth in the constellation of Camelopardalis (just 7.5 degrees from Polaris). It is a relatively young nebula and has a core diameter of only about 0.4 light years. It was dubbed the Lemon Slice Nebula by Jim Kaler, due to its appearance in one false-colour image from the Hubble Space Telescope.[1][2] The Lemon slice nebula is one of the most simple nebulae known, with an almost perfectly spherical morphology. The core of the nebula does not have a distinctly visible structure in formation and is mostly composed of ionized helium.[3] The central star is a very hot and bright asymptotic red giant, and can be seen as a red-orange hue in an amateur's telescope.[4] A faint halo of interstellar dust surrounds the nebula.