Little Ghost Nebula

Little Ghost Nebula, also known as NGC 6369, is a planetary nebula in the constellation Ophiuchus.^[2] It was discovered by William Herschel in 1784.^[3][4][5]

Little Ghost Nebula

Emission nebula
Planetary nebula
Observation data: J2000 epoch
Right ascension	17h 29m 20.457s[1]
Declination	−23° 45′ 34.77″[1]
Distance	2,000 - 5,000 [2] ly
Apparent magnitude (V)	12.00[1]
Apparent dimensions (V)	28″[1]
Constellation	Ophiuchus[2]
Physical characteristics
Radius	0.136-0.34[citation needed] ly
Designations	NGC 6369, PK 002+05 1[1]
See also: Lists of nebulae

Map showing the location of NGC 6369

Round and planet-shaped, the nebula is also relatively faint. The high energy radiation from the central white dwarf causes the surrounding nebula to emit light.^[6] The nebula's main ring structure is about a light-year across and the glow from ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms are colored blue, green, and red respectively.

The Little Ghost Nebula should not be confused with the Ghost Nebula (Sh2-136) or the Ghost Head Nebula (NGC 2080).

The central star of the planetary nebula has a spectral type of [WO3], indicating a spectrum similar to that of an oxygen-rich Wolf–Rayet star.^[7] An analysis of Gaia data suggests that the it may be a binary system.^[8] The central star was monitored by the Kepler space telescope, but it was not found to be variable.^[9]

On 15 June 2011 it was occulted by the Moon during a Total Lunar Eclipse (the June 2011 lunar eclipse) over Northeast Africa, Arabia, South Asia and the northern Indian Ocean.^[10]: 160