July 16, 2022
NGC6720
This is the Ring Nebula (NGC 6720). It is a planetary nebula located about 2567 light years from earth and its radius is about 1.3 light years. It’s fairly bright in the sky at a magnitude 8.8. A planetary nebula is poorly named, and doesn’t have anything to do with planets. Rather, it is formed by the gasses ejected by a dying star leaving a white dwarf, which you can see in the center.
I imaged this for two nights however I only used one night’s worth of images. This is the nebula’s true colors. I had serious tracking and guiding problems during imaging which are why the stars are elongated rather than circular.
The total exposure time is about 4.3 hours.
130x120” (4h 20’) (gain: 100.00) -5°C