Ring Nebula (M57)

Object Type: Planetary Nebula
Scope: Orion 8" Newtonian; Exposure 24 minutes.

The Ring Nebula (Messier 57, NGC 6720) is one of the best-known planetary nebulae - a glowing ring of gas thrown off by a dying star - in Lyra, just south of the bright star Vega. It was discovered in January 1779 by Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix, who said it looked like 'a planet which is fading,' and independently by Charles Messier the same month. It lies roughly 2,300 light-years away, and its colored ring is expanding gas ionized by the hot central white dwarf. In 2023 the James Webb Space Telescope captured the Ring in extraordinary detail, resolving intricate knots and concentric shells in its structure.