Skull Nebula (NGC 246)

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Top image - AP 5", 120 min; Bottom image - C-9.25" SCT, 84 min.

NGC 246 (the Skull Nebula) is a planetary nebula about 1,600 light-years away in Cetus, the glowing outer atmosphere shed by a dying Sun-like star over thousands of years. At its center is a binary system whose fainter member is collapsing into a hot white dwarf. The nebula is plowing into the surrounding interstellar medium, brightening its leading edge as the whole system drifts through space.