The Helix Nebula, also known as The Helix or NGC 7293, is located in the constellation of Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, this object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae. The estimated distance to it is about 700 light-years. The Helix has often, since about 2003, been referred to as the "Eye of God" on the Internet. This nebula is about 2.5 light-years (about 15 trillion miles) wide.

The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula, or 'planetary' formed at the end of a star's evolution. The star swelled to enormous size and ejected its gases into space. These gases appear, from our vantage point, as if we are looking down a helix structure. The remnant central stellar core, known as a planetary nebula nucleus or PNN, is destined to become a white dwarf star. The observed glow of the central star is so energetic that it causes the previously expelled gases to brightly fluoresce. (Narrative credit: Wikipedia and others)



This is a 100% center crop.

To see largest available size, please click on "Original" at bottom of page.
To see in full screen, press F11 on keyboard and F11 again to return to normal screen

Dates:
September 4 and 5, 2010
Location:
Ft. Griffin State Historic Site, Texas
Telescope:
TEC 140 at f/7 980mm focal length
Mount:
Astro-Physics Mach1 guided by the ST-10XE internal and external guide chips
Camera:
SBIG ST-10XE at prime focus with CFW8 and Astronomik LRGB filters
Camera Control:
CCDSoft
Exposures:
L -205 mins with 14 exposures at 10 min each; 13 exposures at 5 min each all 1X1
Red - 72 mins with 9 exposures at 8 mins each; binned 2x2
Green - 72 mins with 9 exposures at 8 mins each; binned 2x2
Blue - 80 mins with 10 exposures at 8 mins each; binned 2x2
Exposure time:
L - 3 hrs 35 mins; R - 1 hr 12 mins; G - 1 hr 12 mins; B - 1 hr 20 mins
Total Time:
7 hrs 19 mins
Processing:
CCDStack; Registar; Photoshop CS2