Helix Nebula: Image obtained by Harold Vander Molen (member of Black Hills Astronomical Society) in New Mexico - 2018
Helix Nebula: Image obtained by Harold Vander
Molen (member of Black Hills Astronomical Society) in New Mexico - 2018
The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) is a large planetary nebula located ~650 light-years from Earth 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. It provides a
sneak peek at the future of our own sun, which is expected to turn into a
planetary nebula in about 5 billion years. Planetary nebulae are
stars about the size of our sun that have neared the ends of their lives and run
out of hydrogen and helium fuel for fusion in their cores. At
that point, they puff out their outer gaseous layers into glowing shells and
condense into small white dwarf stars.
TELESCOPE: Celestron 9.25″ EdgeHD, f10, 2350mm
MOUNT: Software Bisque Paramount MX+
GUIDING: PHD2, LodestarX2 off-axis guiding
CAMERA: QHY16200A with 7-Position Internal Filter Wheel
SOFTWARE: Software Bisque SkyX Pro and PixInsight