The Ring Nebula in the constellation Lyra is the second planetary nebula ever found. Planetary nebulae are the remnants of a dying star; the gassy shell of what it once was. It was discovered in 1779 by Antoine De Darquir. Although it was observed and discovered in the late 1700's, it was not until the 19th century observer William Huggins observed M57 spectroscopically that it became known as a ring of gas. Today M57 is described as an ellipisoidally-shaped nebula, which you can clearly see, if you zoom in on the image above. It has an inner and outer halo made up of luminous gases. These halos surround a very hot and compact central star which is the remaining core of a former red giant. You can make this star out as well, if you zoom in. It is believed that M57 is about 2,300 light years from Earth.
Any way you slice it, if you come upon the Ring Nebula in your eyepiece, you know you are seeing something very special. It is hauntingly beautiful and unique. For us it is a glimpse of the heavens and if they were that amazing 2,300 years ago, we can only imagine...
Photo Details
Messier 57
August 4, 2013
Orion 8" Astrograph on VX Mount
29 sub frames at 30"/frame
Total Exposure Time = 14 minutes - 30 seconds
Image stacking in Deep Sky Tracker
Image processing in Fitswork
Very cool!
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