Discovered by William Herschel in 1787
The Eskimo is a 10th magnitude classic planetary nebula, with a 10.5 magnitude central star. A relatively small object that subtends a mere 20 sec. of ark. It lies some 3700 light years distant.
The Eskimo got its name from its appearance in ground-based photographs where the central "bubble" looks like a face surrounded by a parka.
The central star is HD 59088, a massive O8 star that is a suspected variable.
Detail can be seen in larger instruments when the seeing is good. The large oval object is actually the surrounding gas and dust. It appears as a brighter patch surrounding the central star. This patch is surrounded by a dark circle. The outer ring is composed of ejected gas from the aging star.
The nebula has a blue or green hue in larger instruments.
1http://www.ne.jp/asahi/stellar/scenes/object_e/ngc2392.htm
