Skull Nebula
RA 0h 47m · Dec -11° 59′
5′

A large, faint planetary nebula with a mottled interior and a central white dwarf. The patchy, low-brightness disc requires long exposures; deep images reveal a faint outer halo.

Planetary nebula

Skull Nebula

NGC 246 · Cetus
These photons are ~1,600 years old
LPBroadband light-pollution filter. Suppresses the sodium and mercury glow of streetlights while passing the main nebula emission lines and natural star colours.ZWO Seestar S50ZWO Seestar S50Aperture 50mm · Focal length 250mm · f/5 · Apo triplet with ED element · Sony IMX462 colour CMOS sensor (1920 x 1080, 2.1MP)…View equipment →
⧉ 5 versions of this capture — pick one to see its image and log
Date
22/09/2025
Location
36.3857° N, 28.0415° E
Integration
59m (354 × 10s)
Software
ZWO Seestar app
Notes
·
Total effort
2h 47m over 1 night
Moon
🌑New Moon, 0% lit
Plate solve
Centre RA
0h 47m 28.3s
Centre Dec
−11° 58′ 49″
Field
42.7′ × 76.2′
Pixel scale
2.37″/px
Orientation
133.9° E of N
Hemisphere
Southern
Also in this frame
C56

Catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, nearest the centre first. Highlighted names have their own photo here.

TelescopeZWO Seestar S50
CameraZWO Seestar S50 Camera
RigFamily Holiday Rig

Where to find it

Finder chart
-12°40′-12°30′-12°20′-12°10′-12°-11°50′-11°40′-11°30′-11°20′0h45m0h45m0h46m0h47m0h47m0h48m0h49m0h49m0h50mNGC 246NE42.7′ x 76.2′5′

Star field and catalogued objects inside the plate-solved field, oriented to the solve. Fully offline, from the bundled star and deep-sky catalogues.

Interactive sky chart centred on 0 47 28.3 -11 58 49. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom, click a star or object to identify it. Zoom in to the plate-solved field for the DSS survey photo; zoom out for constellation figures and neighbouring catalogue objects. Fully self-hosted: the star and deep-sky catalogues and the survey image are all served from this site, so nothing external loads. Imagery: DSS2 colour (STScI / POSS-II). Constellation figures © Dominic Ford (GPLv3).

Captured from · Ρόδος (Rhodes)
36.3857° N, 28.0415° E · view on OpenStreetMap ↗ · Place data © GeoNames (CC BY)

Frequently asked questions

What kind of object is NGC 246?
NGC 246 is a planetary nebula.
Which constellation is NGC 246 in?
NGC 246 lies in the constellation Cetus.
How far away is NGC 246?
The light in this image left NGC 246 roughly ~1,600 years ago, so that is how far back in time you are seeing it.
What are the coordinates of NGC 246?
NGC 246 sits at right ascension 00h 47m 28s and declination −11° 58′ 49″ (J2000).
When is the best time to photograph NGC 246?
NGC 246 rides highest in the evening sky around October, reaching about 42° above the horizon from around 36°N.
What else is in this frame?
The plate-solved field also contains C56.
What equipment was used to photograph NGC 246?
This image of NGC 246 was captured with ZWO Seestar S50 and ZWO Seestar S50 Camera.
How much exposure time went into this image?
This image of NGC 246 represents 59m (354 × 10s) + 27m (164 x 10s) of total integration time.

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