IC 2003, HD 279193, PK 161-14 1, PN G161.2-14.8
Planetary Nebula
Perseus
RA: 03 56 22.0
DEC: +33 52 31
Mag: 11.87
Diam: 7 x 6"
Once again apologies for the short article.
This planetary nebula was first sighted on 18 January 1907 by the British Astronomer Thomas Espin. He was looking for new double stars using his private 17.25 inch Calver reflector from his observatory at Tow Law, Co. Durham, UK. With later observations he measured this "conspicuous object equal to a 10 magnitude star" as an elongated disk with 6.9 x 6.35 arcseconds in diameter and the major axis roughly at position 10.5°. Sometimes it looked like two nebulae. A small star was noted south preceding. His observations suggested a planetary nebula. Professor Burnham observed the nebula with the 40 inch telescope on Yerkes Observatory on 20 February. John L. E. Dreyer added the nebula as IC 2003 in his Second Index Catalogue that was published in 1910.
Source: https://deepskycorner.ch/obj/ic2003.en.php
This bright but tiny planetary nebula should be visible in telescopes as small as 10 cm. It responds well to UHC and even better to OIII. It was one of the planetary nebulae that I observed with my 12" telescope from my light polluted terrace west of Madrid during the past half year. See the new Adventures in Deep Space [ADS] mailinglist for a full list of compact (and as Steve pointed out one not so compact) planetary nebulae that I observed.
I have two observing logs for this planetary nebula, both with my 12" telescope. Both indicate that the nebula appears as a fuzzy star at low magnifications. Between 160x and 300x it can be discerned as a disk. From 300x up the nebula appears ring like.
As always,
"Give it a go and let us know!
Good luck and great viewing!"
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