NGC 6440 & 6445... planetary and globular, questio

Started by stedman, 09/05/2005 08:58PM
Posted 09/05/2005 08:58PM Opening Post
Saw this pair for the first time yesterday night. At first, I had too much power and was looking at one of them thinking it was the globular and that the planetary was going to be one of the "stars" in the fov. Scratched the head, put in the O-III, thought one of the stars was more distinct. Nah!

Tried using the DSCs to find the other... sure enough, it was in the fov one over. So, went to lower power to see both... quite nice. Now, the Night Sky Observer's Guide says that the nebula is half the size of the globular... yet, they looked about the same size to me and if either had an edge in size, it was the planetary! What have other people seen as to size comparisons? (I suppose it depends on aperture and sky conditions...)

When I put in the O-III one became more distinct, the other seemed to have stepped behind a veil (no pun intended!).

Am I right that the northernmost one is the planetary? And that it indeed is shaped something like M27, the Dumbbell Nebula, that is, rectangular? Or to put this a different way, in a reflector, the glob would be on the right when looking South and sitting on the West side of the scope?

Yes, I should simply double-check NSOG or my Planetarium program... but what fun would that be, when I can easily ask here for expert advice about their appearance, too?!