| Emission nebula | |
|---|---|
| Planetary nebula | |
 NGC 2440, as taken by theHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data:J2000epoch | |
| Right ascension | 07h 41m 54.91s[1] |
| Declination | −18° 12′ 29.7″[1] |
| Distance | 4.00kly (1.23kpc)[2] ly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.4[3] |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 74" × 42"[3] |
| Constellation | Puppis |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | 0.72 ly |
| Designations | ESO 560-PN9, Bow Nebula |
| See also:Lists of nebulae | |
NGC 2440 is aplanetary nebula, one of many in our galaxy. Its central star,HD 62166,[1] is possibly the hottest knownwhite dwarf, about 400,000°F(200,000°C). The nebula is situated in theconstellationPuppis.
It was discovered byWilliam Herschel on March 4, 1790. He described it as "a beautiful planetary nebula of a considerable degree of brightness, not very well defined."[3] The nebula is located about 1.23kiloparsecs (3.79×1019 m) or about 4,000light years from theSun.[2]
The central star HD 62166 has an exceptionally high surface temperature of about 200,000kelvins[2] and aluminosity 1,100 times that of the Sun.[4] This dense star, with an estimated 0.6solar mass and 0.028solar radius,[4] has an apparent magnitude of 17.5.[5]
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