This very distinct
planetary nebula ("officially" named
NGC 7009) was discovered by
William Herschel in September, 1782. It can be
found in the
constellation Aquarius. It is
approximately 3,900
light years from
Earth, and
has a visual
magnitude of 8.0, making it hard to
spot without a pair of
binoculars or a small
telescope. Its central star is
even fainter, having a magnitude of 11.5, but it is
still bright for a central star,
The Saturn Nebula has nothing to do with the planet
Saturn, but got its name from its faint
resemblance of Saturn's rings.