Blue Snowball (NGC 7662)

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Scope: C-9.25" SCT; Exposure 90 minutes.

The Blue Snowball Nebula (NGC 7662) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Andromeda, the glowing shell of a dying star. Its distance is not well determined, with historical estimates ranging from under 2,000 to around 5,600 light-years. At its center is a faint, variable bluish dwarf star with a computed temperature near 75,000 K, among the hottest classes of stars known; its radiation makes the surrounding gas shell glow.