Menzel 1 (PN)

Planetary Nebula in Norma
R.A.Dec.SizeMag SBCnt.StTypeDistanceChart
15h 34m 19.5s-59° 09′ 09.0″2.0′------PN----
Menzel 1 DSS plate
Source: POSS-2 UK Schmidt Red (STScI) | Field: 10′ × 10′

Background

Menzel 1 (PK 322-02.1) is a planetary nebula discovered in 1922 by the American astronomer Donald Menzel during a Harvard photographic survey of the southern sky from Peru. It glows at about 12th magnitude and displays a disk roughly 20” across. One of the smaller, fainter planetaries on offer in Norma — best at moderate to high power in medium-aperture scopes. Sits about 5^\circ south-southeast of NGC 5925.

My Observing Notes

(Not yet observed — on the Norma list from the May 2026 Universe Sky Tonight column.)

References

Charts

Menzel 1 ultra-wide chart
Ultra-wide view (~25° field)
Menzel 1 wide-field chart
Wide-field view with Telrad rings (4°, 2°, 0.5°)
Menzel 1 finderscope view
Finderscope view (9×50 RACI, ~4.4° TFOV)
Menzel 1 eyepiece view
Eyepiece view — 35 mm Panoptic on 12-inch f/5 (1.6° TFOV)