NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Ignacio Diaz Bobillo
A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, toward the constellation
Aquarius,
a sun-like star is dying.
Its last few thousand years have produced the
Helix
Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a
Planetary
Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution.
A total of 90 hours of exposure time have gone in to creating
this expansive view of the nebula.
Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms
in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues,
it shows remarkable details of the
Helix's brighter inner region about 3
light-years across.
The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot,
central star.
A simple looking nebula at first glance,
the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly
complex geometry.