Celestial Antiquity Sh2-71
This nebula was discovered in 1946 by Rudolph Minkowski (Min 1-90) and classified as «diffuse and peculiar nebulosity». Later in 1959 it was included in the catalogue of H-II by Stewart Sharpless. He already noted that nebula may also be a planetary nebula.
In 1961 the Soviet astronomer Boris Aleksandrovich Vorontsov-Vel’Yaminov confirmed Sh 2-71 (V-V 1-9) to be a planetary nebula and noted: «Overexposed in the red, with a kind of dark band in the middle and with extremely faint appendages; the edge, however, is sharp. The brigt part measures 2.5′ x 1.3′. In the blue, this is evidently a planetary nebula in the form of a broad ring, one-half of which is far brighter than the other. There are two stars in the centre, one of which should be the nucleus.» 3,300ly
