The Helix Nebula, also known as The Helix, NGC 7293, is a large planetary nebula (PN) located in the constellation Aquarius. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, this object is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae.^[7] The estimated distance is about 215 parsecs or 700 light-years. It is similar in appearance to the Cat’s Eye Nebula and the Ring Nebula, whose size, age, and physical characteristics are similar to the Dumbbell Nebula, varying only in its relative proximity and the appearance from the equatorial viewing angle.

Imaging telescopes or lenses: Stellarvue SV115 Apo Triplet
Camera: QSI583 CCD. Astrogen 31mm filters.
Dates: Aug. 29, 2014
Locations: Heathcote, Victoria, Australia
Frames: 29×1200″
Integration: 9.7 hours
HaRGB:
8x20mins Ha
5×20 red
8x20min green
8 x 20mins (blue)

Author: Nicholas Jones
AstroPhotography of the day by SPONLI 12 Sep 2014