Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Aquarius (Aqr)  ·  Contains:  Helix Nebula  ·  NGC 7293
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The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill
The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill

The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill
The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill

The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO

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In June to August this year, I had the good fortune to capture a full set of broadband and narrowband data for the iconic Helix Nebula. 

After recently posting a colour image (LRGB), and then one where the Ha and OIII captures were used to enhance the LRGB image, this is now the straight narrowband using the Hubble Palette (SHO). The stars are RGB.
Revision B shows the Ha & OIII enhanced colour image which can be accessed via the mouse over and allows the enhancement with the narrowband filters to be made clear.

“The Helix Nebula (also known as NGC 7293 or Caldwell 63) is a planetary nebula (PN) located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, most likely before 1824, this object is one of the closest of all the bright planetary nebulae to Earth. The distance, measured by the Gaia mission, is 655±13 light-years.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 our vantage point, as if we are looking down a helix structure. The remnant central stellar core, known as the central star (CS) 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.The nebula is in the constellation of Aquarius, and lies about 650 light-years away, spanning about 0.8 parsecs (2.5 light-years). Its age is estimated to be 10600 +2300/−1200 years, based on the ratio of its size to its measured expansion rate of 31 km/s.The Helix Nebula is thought to be shaped like a prolate spheroid with strong density concentrations toward the filled disk along the equatorial plane, whose major axis is inclined about 21° to 37° from our vantage point. The size of the inner disk is 8×19 arcmin in diameter (0.52 pc); the outer torus is 12×22 arcmin in diameter (0.77 pc); and the outer-most ring is about 25 arcmin in diameter (1.76 pc). The outer-most ring appears flattened on one side due to it colliding with the ambient interstellar medium.Expansion of the whole planetary nebula structure is estimated to have occurred in the last 6,560 years, and 12,100 years for the inner disk. Spectroscopically, the outer ring's expansion rate is 40 km/s, and about 32 km/s for the inner disk.” – Wikipedia (abridged)

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  • Final
    The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill
    Original
  • The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill
    B

B

Description: Ha & OIII enhanced LRGB image

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The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 - SHO, Niall MacNeill