NGC 6804 - Planetary Nebula
NGC 6804 is a bright planetary nebula in the northern part of the constellation Aquila. It is located only about 1° away from another
bright PN (NGC 6803). The object was discovered by William Herschel on August 25, 1791.
Its distance is given as 2,900 light-years, while its apparent diameter in the sky is about 1 arcminute. The true size of the
nebular envelope can thus be determined to be 0.8 light-years. The brightness of the nebula is given with about 12mag, while the
central star is about 14mag bright.
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In a 20" f/3.2 Dobsonian, NGC 6804 offers a wonderful view, somewhat reminiscent of the Ring Nebula Messier 57 in the constellation
Lyra. The inner part consists of a brighter oval ring, whose two longer sides appear a little brighter than the short ones. The center is
much darker than the ring, but still slightly brighter than the sky background. If you look closely, you can also see a very faint halo.
Directly in the center the bright central star can be seen, another faint star is located at the eastern end of the nebular ring.
All in all NGC 6804 belongs to the most beautiful PN in the constellation Aquila.
