Octans is an inconspicuous constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Its name is Latin for the eighth part of a circle, but it is named after the octant, a navigational instrument. Octans is notable as the location of the south celestial pole but, unlike the north pole, it has no bright pole star. This constellation is circumpolar to the south celestial pole, so it can be seen in Southern Hemisphere skies during the evening in any month of the year. Octans does not contain many deep sky objects but contain a vast complex of dust and molecular clouds, of which a small part is imaged here. The blue reflection nebula close to the center of the image is cataloged as GN 19.41.5 and is merely 4' across. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - L (270m) R (120m) G (120m) B (120m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
NGC 3242, commonly known as the Ghost of Jupiter, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Hydra. William Herschel discovered the nebula that later was catalogued by Dreyer as NGC 3242. After a star like our Sun completes fusion in its core, it throws off its outer layers it a striking display called a planetary nebula. NGC 3242 is such a planetary nebula, with the stellar remnant white dwarf star visible at the center. While the planetary nebula's core measure only about 16" x 26" in diameter, NGC 3242 is surrounded by a first fainter shell and by another very faint giant halo measuring almost half degree in diameter, same as the full Moon, with a prominent arc containing both strong emissions of Ha and OIII. This huge halo was first discovered on the Palomar DSS plates and later confirmed to be related to the planetary nebula itself. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - Ha (510m) OIII (540m) R (90m) G (90m) B (110m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
Apus, the Bird of Paradise, is a very small southern constellation with no spectacular deep sky objects. The most significat patch of sky here is this one around IC4633, a faint galaxy surrounded by a very faint Integrated Flux Nebula. IFN is a gauze of gas and dust that glows by reflecting all the collective light of the Milky Way. Its material is so thin that light from external galaxies shine through it. IC 4633 (at centre top) is conspicuous on the edge of the emission glow while just below lies the bright sliver of a distant edge-on spiral or lenticular system, IC4635. Apo TEC140 (140/f7.2) - FLI Proline 16803 - L (300m) R (90m) G (90m) B (90m) - Warrumbungle Observatory, Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia
