Catalogue and alternative designations NGC2438 and M46

 

Type Planetary nebula with  open cluster in background
Position 07 41.8, -14 44 
Constellation Puppis
Camera and Telescope STXL6303E and 36.8 cm Ritchey Chretien
Focal Ratio F9
Exposure Details HaRGB 750:130:140:130 with Astrodon series 2 filters.  This is a full resolution crop.
Description This is a deep shot of  NGC 2438 which appears to be part of the open cluster M46 but  is in fact some 700 parsecs closer.  This cropped image shows the fainter shells surrounding it.  The Calabash nebula or Rotten egg nebula(a proto- planetary nebula) is visible to the upper right.

The small galaxy to the right is  18th magnitude MAC 0741-1442.