New Images
NGC 7293 Helix Nebula in Aquarius
The Helix Nebula is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth, and a comparative newcomer at around 10,600 years of age.
It is around 2.5 lightyears in diameter and 655 lightyears distant. It is the remains of a sun-like star, that started shedding its outer layers - our own sun will have a similar fate in around 5 billion years.
This narrowband image is the result of 3h45m of remote capture of Ha, OIII and SII data from New South Wales, over three evenings in July and August 2023. Ha has been mapped to red and OIII to both green and blue. A 17-inch Planewave CDK reflector and Moravian G4 16000 camera were used.
Date: 23/08/2023
Photographer: Graham Wilcock
