Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Lyra (Lyr)  ·  Contains:  HD175701  ·  IC 1296  ·  M 57  ·  NGC 6720  ·  Ring Nebula
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M57 - Ring Nebula, Darius Kopriva
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M57 - Ring Nebula, Darius Kopriva
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Description

The Ring Nebula (also catalogued as Messier 57, M57 and NGC 6720) is a planetary nebula in the mildly northern constellation of Lyra. Such a nebula is formed when a star, during the last stages of its evolution before becoming a white dwarf, expels a vast luminous envelope of ionized gas into the surrounding interstellar space.

This nebula was discovered by the French astronomer Charles Messier while searching for comets in late January 1779. Messier's report of his independent discovery of Comet Bode reached fellow French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix two weeks later, who then independently rediscovered the nebula while following the comet. Darquier later reported that it was "...as large as Jupiter and resembles a planet which is fading" (which may have contributed to the use of the persistent "planetary nebula" terminology). It would be entered into Messier's catalogue as the 57th object. Messier and German-born astronomer William Herschel speculated that the nebula was formed by multiple faint stars that were unresolvable with his telescope.

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M57 - Ring Nebula, Darius Kopriva

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