101 Must-See Cosmic Objects: NGC 6781

Planetary nebula NGC 6781 lies in the constellation Aquila the Eagle. But while this star figure ranks 22nd in size among the 88 constellations, you won’t find any Messier objects or emission nebulae in it. In fact, although it sits squarely within the Milky Way, it contains few even reasonably bright star clusters.

NGC 6781 doesn’t make up for all that, but it is a fine target for amateurs with medium-sized telescopes. This interesting planetary lies some 3,500 light-years away an