NGC 5882

NGC 5882
Emission nebula
Planetary nebula
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 5882.
Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension15h 16m 49.95679s[1]
Declination−45° 38′ 58.6109″[1]
Distance7.7 kly (2.4 kpc)[2] ly
Apparent dimensions (V)13–14″[3]
ConstellationLupus
DesignationsESO 274-7, IC 1108,[4] NGC 5882[5]
See also: Lists of nebulae

NGC 5882 is a small[4] planetary nebula[3] in the southern constellation of Lupus, positioned about 1.5° to the southwest of the star Epsilon Lupi.[6] It was discovered by English astronomer John Herschel on July 2, 1834 from the Cape of Good Hope observatory.[4] John L. E. Dreyer described it as "very small, round, quite sharp".[7] It is located at a distance of approximately 7.7 kilolight-years from the Sun.[2]

This nebular region consists of the cast-off outer atmosphere of an aging star. It is roughly elliptical in shape with several clumps of ionized material, and is surrounded by a larger region of low-level emission that extends for three times the nominal diameter of the main nebula.[3] The nebula is expanding with an average velocity of 12.5 km/s. It consists of two shells: the inner shell is elliptical and measures 11″ × 6″, while the more rapidly expanding outer shell is rounder with a diameter of 15″. The inner shell has what appears to be multiple bubble-like shapes. The clumps in the outer shell may be the result of instabilities.[8]

The elemental abundances of the nebula are very similar to those in the Sun, except for a times two enrichment of nitrogen. The latter suggests that the central star did not go through second dredge-up. The central star has an apparent visual magnitude of 13.43. It shines with 830 times the luminosity of the Sun and has 22.7% of the Sun's radius.[3] It is displaced slightly from the center of symmetry for the nebula.[8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference GaiaDR2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Stanghellini2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Pottasch2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference OMeara2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference simbad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sinnott1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference cseligman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Corradi2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).