Emission nebula | |
---|---|
Planetary nebula | |
Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
Right ascension | 18h 22m 32.08s[1] |
Declination | −24° 09′ 27.7″[1] |
Distance | 30,800 (9444 pc)[1] ly |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.9[1] |
Apparent dimensions (V) | 4″[1] |
Notable features | Bipolar outflow, Bipolar nebula |
Designations | PN M 2-42 PNG 008.2-04.8 |
Minkowski 2-42, abbreviated M2-42, is a planetary nebula that was discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in 1947.[2] It is located about 30,800 light-years away from Earth in the Galactic bulge.[1] It is known to be a bipolar planetary nebula containing two jets of material emerging from both sides of its central star.[3] It has been found that its bipolar outflows have the typical features of Fast Low-Ionization Emission Region (FLIER). [3]
The central star of M2-42 is classified as weak emission-line star,[4] but its nitrogen and helium features[5] may be linked to nitrogen sequences of Wolf-Rayet central stars of planetary nebula ([WN]).[3] The chemical composition of this planetary nebula was found to be around the solar metallicity.[6]