Shapley 1
Planetary nebula in the constellation Norma
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shapley 1 (Sp 1 or PLN 329+2.1)[3] is an annular planetary nebula in the constellation of Norma with a magnitude of +12.6.[4] As viewed from Earth, it is peculiar in that it seems to be a non-bipolar, torus-shaped planetary nebula. However, it is thought that this is due to the viewpoint of looking directly down on a binary system whose orbit is perpendicular to Earth.[2]
| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
Fine Ring Nebula — captured here by the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera mounted on the New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.[1] Credit ESO. | |
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
| Right ascension | 15h 51m 42.75s |
| Declination | −51° 31′ 30.5″ |
| Distance | ~4900[2] ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.6 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 1.1' |
| Constellation | Norma |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 0.8 ly |
| Notable features | Central star is a white dwarf with a magnitude of 14. |
| Designations | PLN 329+2.1, RCW 100 |
Discovered in 1936 by Harlow Shapley,[3][4] it is approximately 4900 light years from Earth, and is around 8700 years old.[2] At the center of the nebula is a magnitude 14 white dwarf star. It has an angular diameter of 1.1 arc minutes,[5] which makes it about one-third (.32) of a light year across.
