NGC 6781

NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in the equatorial constellation of Aquila, about 2.5° east-northeast of the 5th magnitude star 19 Aquilae. It was discovered July 30, 1788 by the Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The nebula lies at a distance of 1,500 ly from the Sun. It has a visual magnitude of 11.4 and spans an angular size of 1.9 × 1.8 arcminutes.

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The bipolar dust shell of this nebula is believed to be barrel-shaped and is being viewed from nearly pole-on. It has an outer angular radius of 61″; equivalent to a physical radius of 0.44 ly (0.135 pc). The total mass of gas ejected as the central star passed through its last asymptotic giant branch (AGB) thermal pulse event is 0.41 M☉, while the estimated dust mass is 1.53 M☉.

Keywords: NGC 6781, 110 Finest NGCs, planetary nebula, Aquila