> Thanks Michelle and Jim,
>
> Does it have a NGC or IC number?
>
> -Ray
As the name indicates, it was discovered by Rudolph Minkowski in the late
1940's from Mt. Wilson -- so it was found much too late to be listed in the
NGC/IC, but its catalog designation is M2-9 and you'll find it at 17 05 37.9
-10 08 34. This is one of the spectacular Hubble images and is classified as
a PPN (proto-planetary nebula) or a bipolar reflection nebula. Here are my
notes from last summer at the Sierra Buttes:
17.5" (7/9/99): picked up a low power but best viewed at 380x. The faint
central star is cleanly resolved with two thin "jets" extending N-S, roughly
15" on either side of the star. The nebulosity dims slightly near the
central star but is not detached. This unusual bi-polar object looks more
similar to a fairly faint edge-on galaxy than a PN although the tips of the
extensions do not noticeably taper. Unusual filtration response as *no*
noticeable improvement with use of filters.
The two Djorgovski (DJ) discoveries near B86 (the "Inkspot") are situated 21'
WNW (this is ESO 456-SC38 = Djorgovski 2 -- first found on the ESO-Uppsala
survey as listed as an open cluster) and NGC 6540 = Djorgovski 3, about 40'
following B86.
Steve Gottlieb