Canon 350D Hap Griffin Baader Mod9x600sec at iso 1600
30 Darks/Flats/Bias
APM/TMB 130/780 with APM field flattenerBaader 7nm H alpha filter
A full frame image for scale with other images - to show how large this "largest of the planetary nebulae" really is.
The
Helix nebula (
NGC 7293) in
Hydrogen Alpha light taken the same night as the previous M16 (bad seeing, thin clouds, and bloated moon). I had planned on many hours of integration time, but the clouds got too bad around 1 am, so I had to be content with 90 minutes.
The Helix Nebula is one of the closest of all planetary nebulae: Lying at a distance of perhaps 450 light years and spanning 2.5 light years. The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula, a nebula created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer gasses of the star
expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a
helix. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a
white dwarf star, glows in light so
energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce.
September 18, 2008