M57

Lyra - Planetary Nebula - Magnitude 8.8

Messier 57 - The Ring Nebula in Lyra

A smoke ring in the sky! This planetary nebula is clearly visible and easy to find. Just look midway between the two southern most stars in the Lyra asterism and you'll see this object. It doesn't take much aperture to see, but the more you have the better. Incidently, you are seeing this planetary nebula on edge. If we could see its structure we notice that it has a helical shape almost identical to the Dumbbell Nebula (M27). The center star of this object, barely shown here, is 15 magnitude;
a good test for 12" scopes or larger.

Location: Ballauer Observatory in Azle, Texas
Seeing: 5/10
Transparency: 2/10
Date and Time: June 23, 2003
Equipment: SBIG ST7E and LX-200 at f/6.3 binned 2x2
Length: Five 30 second exposures stacked and averaged
Processing Information: Maximum Entropy Deconvolution in MaxIm 3.

Previous Attempt:

Taken at Texas Star Party, May, 2002. 6 x 30 sec. exposures with STV and LX200 at f/10; zoom mode.
Unguided. Processing includes levels and contrast adjustment.