A dying star's gas shell — nicknamed the 'Eye of God'.
Also called: the Eye of God Nebula, NGC 7293.
Planetary nebula, gas shell shed by a dying Sun-like star, a preview of the Sun's own far future.
Planetary nebula: The shell a dying Sun-like star puffs off. Nothing to do with planets. Every kind of thing there is →
Look in the constellation Aquarius.
Better placed and higher overhead from the Southern Hemisphere.
Star-hop: Needs 8-inch aperture, dark skies and ideally a nebula filter: very low surface brightness spread over a large area.
The Planetarium works out where it actually is from your own place and the date — including whether it is above the horizon at all tonight.
A small, round, faintly coloured puff around a tiny central star.
Honest, not glamorous — why the pictures here are drawn.
On the 100-meter-track scale model of the Milky Way, the Helix Nebula would be about 65 centimeters from the Sun. Light takes 650 Earth years to get here from the Helix Nebula, so what you are looking at is the Helix Nebula as it was 650 Earth years ago.
| Distance from us | 650 light-years |
|---|
Nobody flew a tape measure out there. Every number on this page was worked out from the ground:
The Dumbbell Nebulaplanetary nebulaSmall telescopeThe Ring Nebulaplanetary nebulaSmall telescope
The Milky Wayspiral galaxyNaked eye
Proxima CentauristarWith effortAlpha Centauri A & Bbinary star systemNaked eyeSiriusstarNaked eyeClear tonight? The Planetarium will show you what is worth a look. Then just go out.