Category: Planetary nebula

NGC 7293 Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula, also known as NGC 7293, is a large planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius, about 650 light-years away from Earth. Often called the “Eye of God” due to its striking appearance, it features a bright, donut-shaped ring of gas and dust surrounding a central, faint white dwarf—the remnant core of a dying star. This nebula formed when the star shed its outer layers in the final stages of its life, creating the colorful halo we see today. It spans about 2.5 light-years and is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth, making it a popular object of study in astronomy.

TelescopeNewtonian 200/800 mm
Aperture200 mm
Focal length800 mm
MountSkywatcher EQ6R
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, WO 40/200 mm
CameraZWO 071MC @-0°C
CorrectorGPU
FiltersAntlia DualBand
Exposure131x180s, Gain 100, bin 1×1,
Date2024-10-05

M76 Little Dumbbell Nebula

Messier 76 is one out of four planetary nebulae in Messier catalogue. It is one of the dimmest objects in this catalogue. The nebula is located in constellation Perseus and it is 2500 light-years away from Earth. M76 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and in the same year was catalogued by Charles Messier.

The picture is a stack of 58 pictures, each 180s, which means nearly 3 hours of the integration time. However, the conditions were far from optimal, because the Moon was in first quarter and illuminating the skies.

TelescopeNewton 254/1000 mm
Aperture254 mm
Focal length1000 mm
MountGemini G53f
AutoguidingZWO 174MM, TS 60/240 mm
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-20°C
CorrectorExplore Scientific HR coma corrector
FiltersHutech IDAS LPS-D2
Exposure58x180s, Gain 94, bin 1x1,
Date2019-02-14

NGC7293 Helix Nebula

NGC 7293, sometimes called Helix Nebula, is the closest planetary nebula (only 700 light-years away), which can be located in constellation Aquarius. Last year I captured this nebula on Gavdos. This year on Milos I was equipped by different telescope and different camera, so I gave it a try again.

Technical details:

TelescopeNewton 150/600 mm
Aperture150 mm
Focal length660 mm
MountiOptron CEM25P
AutoguidingQHYCCD miniGuideScope 130 mm f/4.3, ZWO 174 MM
CameraZWO 071 Pro @-10C
CorrectorExplore Scientific HR coma corrector
FiltersAstronomik L-1 - UV IR Block Filter
Exposure40x300s, Gain 134, bin 1x1,
Date2018-09-07


NGC 7293 Helix nebula

Helix nebula is the closest and the brightest planetary nebula in the sky. It was discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding quite long time ago at 1824 in constellation Aquarius. This nebula is similar to Dumbbell or Ring Nebula, only it’s much bigger and bit closer – approximately 450 light-years.

I took this picture on Gavdos. This nebula was my primary target there, because in Switzerland is located not far above the horizon, therefore I would have to capture it through heavy light pollution. In the southernmost point of European continent was way upper in the sky. I was collecting the light coming from this nebula several nights and it was worth it:

Technical details

Telescope:RC 154/1370
Aperture:154 mm
Focal length:917 mm
MountiOptron CEM25P
AutoguidingQHYCCD miniGuideScope 130 mm f/4.3, ZWO 174 MM
Camera:ZWO 1600 MC @ -15C
Corrector:Astro Physics CCDT67
Filters:UV, IR cut
Exposure:116x 180s Gain 139
Date:2017-09-22


M27 Dumbbell nebula

Here comes another comparison between two cameras, telescopes and mounts. ZWO 1600 MC competes with Moravian G2 8300. Ritchey-Chrétien 154 mm competes with Newton 254mm f4 and Gemini G53f is challenged by iOptron CEM25P. I know it is incomparable aperture, price and portability, moreover the integration time is in favour of Newton, but I am very positively surprised by the outcome of the portable setup (ZWO, RC, iOptron). The nebula is logically better captured by the Newton, but RC telescope has definitely more regular star shapes (except the corners, there is quality quite poor).

Brief description of the Dumbbell nebula is here. Upper picture was made by heavy equipment (MII G2, Newton 254mm and Gemini G53f) and the lower picture was captured by portable setup (ZWO, RC 154 and iOptron).

Technical details

Telescope:Newton 254/1000 mm
RC 154/1370
Aperture:254 mm
154 mm
Focal length:1000 mm
917 mm
MountGemini G53f
iOptron CEM25P
AutoguidingTS 60 mm, FL240 mm, ZWO 174 MM
Camera:Moravian instruments G2 8300M @-30C
ZWO 1600 MC @ -15C
Corrector:GPU
Astro Physics CCDT67
Filters:Baader Ha, OIII, SII
Exposure:46xL 180s bin 1x1, 20xRGB 120s bin2x2
30x 180s Gain 300
Date:2017-08-31


M57 Ring Nebula

Messier 57 is a planetary nebula, which can be located in constellation Lyra, not far from well-known star Vega. The name planetary nebula has nothing to do with a planet, because in a small telescope it can look like a Jupiter, but in the reality it was a star, similar to our Sun. At the end of its life, when the fuel was consumed, the star inflated and ejected the material away. The nebula, as we see it today is illuminated by the white dwarf in the middle.

Technical details:

Telescope:RC 154/1370
Aperture:154 mm
Focal length:917 mm
MountiOptron CEM25P
AutoguidingQHYCCD miniGuideScope 130 mm f/4.3, ZWO 174 MM
Camera:ZWO 1600 MC @ -15C
Corrector:Astro Physics CCDT67
Filters:UV, IR cut
Exposure:31x 120s Gain 139
Date:2017-08-13

Planetary nebulae

Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with the real planets. However, by its circular shape, they resemble the planet. In fact, the planetary nebulas are types of emission nebulae, which consist of the ionized gas ejected at the end of the star’s life.

Something similar will eventually happen to our Sun, but there is still 5 – 7 billion year time. The Sun will turn into a red giant and afterward forms a planetary nebula.


M27 Dumbbell nebula

Dumbbell nebula is a planetary nebula located 1360 light-years from solar system in constellation Vulpecula (fox or little fox). Dumbbell was the first discovered planetary nebula by Charles Messier. It’s very popular deep space object for amateur astrophotographers, including me.

Actually, this is my second attempt of this planetary nebula. This time I concentrated on bi-color image composed of hydrogen alpha (Hα) and oxygen (OIII). This is because of the fact that the planetary nebulae contain these two gases. Hα was inserted into red channel and OIII into blue and green channel. Post processing was done in PixInsight software.

M27_Dumbbell_2015-08-22-30C-600s-10Ha11OIII-FL1000


M97 Owl nebula

Here is another planetary nebula called Owl nebula. It is approximately 2000 light years far from solar system and its diameter is approximately 1 light year. Here I played with the composition, in order to capture another deep space object – M108 Surfboard galaxy (left bottom).

M108_2015-04-23-30C-240s-25L-12RGB-SQM20_20-pixi01