Caldwell 2

This shell of gas is expanding outward, away from the dying star within.

Distance

3,500 light-years

Apparent Magnitude

12.3

constellation

Cepheus

object type

Planetary Nebula

Caldwell 2
This image of Caldwell 2 (C2) was taken in 1995 as part of a survey of nearby planetary nebulae. Astronomers used Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 to search for central stars that have close companion stars. These companion stars are helpful to astronomers because they can be used to determine the distance to planetary nebulae like C2.
NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

This hazy Hubble image captures a portion of the planetary nebula Caldwell 2, or NGC 40. A shell of gas is expanding outward from the nebula’s central star, which has reached the final stage of its life. Energy from the dying star is causing the surrounding shell of gas to glow. As the planetary nebula disperses over the course of tens of thousands of years, it will leave behind a stellar corpse called a white dwarf, the small, dense core of the star.

Caldwell 2 - inset 1
This image of Caldwell 2’s central star was taken in 2009 using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. The observation was made as a follow-up to the earlier study of possible companion stars in planetary nebulae conducted with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.
NASA, ESA, and R. Wade (Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Caldwell 2 was discovered by the astronomer William Herschel in 1788 and is located roughly 3,500 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus. It is often difficult to spot because the glowing gas shell appears very small in the sky and has an apparent magnitude of only 12.3, making it the faintest object in the catalog. Caldwell 2’s bright central star can wash out the cloud of gas, so a telescope is needed to resolve the nebula. Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will have the best view of Caldwell 2 in October.

Caldwell 2 - inset 2
Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary 2 (WFPC2) image of Caldwell 2 on the right captures a large portion of the nebula. A white square in that image shows the area captured in the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) image on the left, which provides a closer look at the nebula’s central star.
WFPC2 image: NASA, ESA, and H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University); WFC3 image: NASA, ESA, and R. Wade (Pennsylvania State University); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Line drawings of constellations pinpoint the location of Caldwell 2.
This star chart for C2 represents the view from mid-northern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium

Glossary

Apparent Magnitude - The brightness of an astronomical object as seen from Earth, influenced by the object's distance from Earth, its absolute magnitude, and even gas and dust that lie between the object and Earth.

Nebula - An interstellar cloud of dust and gas; either a location where new stars are being forged or a cloud of material ejected into space by a dying star.

Planetary Nebula - An expanding shell of gas around an aging or dying Sun-like star, cast off by the star.

White Dwarf - The core of a dead Sun-like star whose outer layers have been expelled into space.

Explore Hubble's Caldwell Catalog

The following pages contain some of Hubble’s best images of the Caldwell objects.

Stars with four diffraction spikes dot the scene against a black backdrop.

Caldwell 1

Also known as NGC 188, this group of stars formed from a large cloud of gas making the stars roughly…

Large grouping of bright white, blue and red stars. Lightly colored blue dust surrounds the stars.

Caldwell 3

This barred spiral galaxy was first spotted by British astronomer William Herschel in April 1793 in the constellation Draco.