Featured Deep Sky Objects NGC 2392

	Deep Sky Object Chart | Stars in Gemini | M35 | Eskimo | NGC Clusters | NGC2339 | NGC2371-72 | IC443 NGC 2392 is more popularly and descriptively known as the "Eskimo" or "Clown Face" nebula, seen at left in an imaginary view from a nearby planet. From Earth, this little cloud of gas is quite bright in moderate amateur telescopes (8 inch aperture or so) and can be seen even in the semi-darkness of a city night sky. Look for the Eskimo 2.5 degrees southeast of Wasat; the first impression is of a fuzzy oval about the size of Jupiter in your telescope (40 arc seconds), softly glowing at eighth magnitude.
On closer inspection, especially in larger instruments and darker skies, a vivid turquoise color can be seen. The Eskimo nickname is derived from the presence of a fainter ring of material outside the obvious disk, suggesting a parka snugly wrapped around a face. This outer ring can be seen if the sky is dark, as suggestions of irregular clumps within it in the best instruments. A gas shell ejected from a star at the end of it's life cycle, this nebula is estimated to be about 3,000 light years - at this distance, the outer gas ring spans half a light year. Billions of years from now, our sun will blow a smoke signal like this into the galaxy, as our Earth cools into a frozen iceball. Creepy? Sure - but pretty too. Home M35 NGC Clusters