NGC 2438 (original) (raw)

Planetary Nebula NGC 2438(= H IV.39 = FC 87), type IV+II, in Puppis

[ ](../../Pics/Jpg/n2438aao.jpg)

Discovered by William Herschel in 1786.

Planetary nebula NGC 2438 appears superimposed over the open star clusterM46, although it is almost certainly no member of the cluster, but a foreground object (see M46 for details). It is one of the discoveries of William Herschel, who cataloged it as H IV.39.

Our image was obtained by David Malin of the Australian Astronomical Observatorywith the 3.9-meter Anglo-Australian Telescope. The image is a 3-color composit created from red, green and blue photographic plates. The faint central star appears close to a background star, which is probably a member of M46, as many of the other stars in the image.
Credit: Anglo-Australian Observatory.

The central star of NGC 2438 is of magnitude 17.5 and exhibits a continuous spectrum.

Long exposures by David Malin with the Anglo-Australian Telescope have shown that this planetary has an extended halo, extending somewhat beyond its apparent diameter of 66".

[ ](../../Pics/Jpg/n2438%5Ffaulkes.jpg)

NGC 2438 in M46, as photographed by German amateur astronomer Dr. Sighard Schräbler. A 3-color composite CCD image.

[ ](../../Pics/Ngc/n2438f1.jpg)

Detail from above image - showing the planetary nebula.

• SIMBAD Data of NGC 2438
• Publications on NGC 2438 (NASA ADS)
• Observing Reports for NGC 2438 (IAAC Netastrocatalog)
• NGC Online data for NGC 2438

Hartmut Frommert
Christine Kronberg
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Last Modification: March 18, 2006