Captain William Henry Smyth
Mar 22, 1833    No. 6 The Crescent, Bedford, England (map)
150mm f/17.6 refractor by Tully 1827

[From entry CCC 46 ♅ VIII = NGC 2430] ...and the stragglers run into the south-south-east quarter, where is the crowded group 47 ♅. VIII. [NGC 2428] It was discovered by ♅. on the last evening of the year 1785.

― A Cycle of Celestial Objects Vol II, The Bedford Catalogue, William Henry Smyth, 1844

Steve Coe
Sentinel, Arizona (map)
13.1" f/5.6 @ 440x
Seeing: 7 Transparency: 7 Moon: 0%

NGC 2438 Bright, large, elongated 1.2x1 in PA 75, the central star is easy at 100x. Raising the power to 440x brings out several dimmer stars involved in the nebula. Also at the higher power the shape of the planetary is seen to be an incomplete ring, somewhat like a horseshoe. This bright rim is about 270° around and is dimmest on the north side. I have always seen this planetary nebula as light green in color. This is from a great night at Sentinel, 7/10 seeing and 10/10 transparency.

Drawings, descriptions, and CCD photos are copyright Andrew Cooper unless otherwise noted, no usage without permission.

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