It’s pretty hard to be an astronomer and not give Messier 37 (aka M37 or NGC 2099) some attention. It’s the name of the brightest and richest open cluster located in the constellation Auriga.
Phys.org reveals that after a new study on Messier 37, astronomers discovered a large planetary nebula that also has a white dwarf as the central star. This is indeed a remarkable discovery, considering that planetary nebulae are relatively rare. The open cluster is located somewhat close to Earth: ‘only’ 4,500 light-years away, and it’s also the home of over 500 stars.
Meet IPHASX J055226.2+323724
IPHASX J055226.2+323724 is the name of the planetary nebula (PN) in question. It was discovered 14 years ago, but it’s being confirmed only now as part of the Messier 37 open cluster.
An official statement reads as Phys.org quotes:
The nebula was discovered and classified as a PN candidate by Sabin (2008) from IPHAS [INT Photometric H-Alpha Survey] imagery. Here we present new, high resolution radial velocity data that confirm this rare OC-PN link,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
Another statement says, as the same source quotes:
This planetary nebula also appears to have the largest kinematical age ever determined and implies increased visibility lifetimes when they are located in clusters.
Giovanni Battista Hodierna, an Italian, was also the astronomer who discovered M37. He did it over 350 years ago – before 1654, to be more precise.
The Auriga constellation, where M37 is also located, exists in the northern celestial hemisphere. We’re talking about one of the 88 modern constellations and also one of the 48 constellations that were listed by Ptolemy, an astronomer who lived during the 2nd century after Christ.
The new study about the planetary nebula was published on the arXiv.org pre-print repository.
