NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula

Click on image for larger version.

At a distance of 450 light years away, this gas bubble released by a dying star is the closest of its type. It is estimated that the process of ejection of these gas began some 10,000 years ago. The nebula is so close to us that its size on the sky is very large- almost the size of the moon! It can be seen with binoculars under the dark skies of Kitt Peak as a circular glow in the constellation of Aquarius. Of course an image through a telescope reveals much more. In this image you can see detail in shell and the central star which makes the gas glow (not unlike a neon light). The radial fingers of gas are caused by the immense UV radiation that the white dwarf (central star) emmits and evaporates material in the process. This image was featured as "IMAGE OF THE MONTH" by SBIG. Also note the small galaxy near bright star at the top of the image.

Equipment

Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3
SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 60 minutes binned 1x1
 Red = 10 minutes binned 2x2
 Green = 10 minutes binned 2x2
 Blue = 10 minutes binned 2x2
  • This image is a mosaic of 4 frames stitched together. Thus the above exposure times are approximate for each frame.
  • The image quality isn't perfect- but putting this together was a tremendous undertaking- especially balancing the color.
  • One iteration of L-R deconvolution (sharpening) algorithm using CCDsharp was applied to the luminance image.

    • Minimum credit line: Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 7/23/2001