The Eye

Looking up at the dark heavens above, an eye stares back! At around 650 light years away, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest bright planetary nebulas to Earth, a gaseous envelope expelled by a dying star.

Wikipedia: The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula, formed by an intermediate to low-mass star, which sheds its outer layers near the end of its evolution. Gases from the star in the surrounding space appear, from Earth's perspective, a helix structure. The remnant central stellar core, known as the central star of the planetary nebula, is destined to become a white dwarf star. The observed glow of the central star is so energetic that it causes the previously expelled gases to brightly fluoresce.

| 2025-09-22 to 2025-09-23 | Perth, Western Australia | ASI2600MC | Skywatcher Esprit 120ED | f/7 | STC duonarrowband filter | Skywatcher NEQ6 mount | AsiAir Plus | 1 x panel | Gain 100 | HaOIII 81 x 600s |