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A blue pearl

Douglas J. Struble from Taylor, Michigan

NGC 1501, often called the Oyster Nebula, is a planetary nebula around 5,600 light-years away in Camelopardalis, formed from the cast-off outer layers of a dying star. In photographs and large scopes, it has a blue hue, and is sometimes called the Blue Oyster Nebula. The imager gathered over 66 hours of Hα/OIII/RGB data with a 6.5-inch f/7 refractor, revealing its delicate outer structure.