Messier 57 – Ring Nebula

Key Scientific Data

Object type: Planetary nebula
Constellation: Lyra
Other designations: M57, NGC 6720, Ring Nebula
Distance from Earth: approximately 2,500 light-years
Diameter: approximately 1.3 light-years (bright main ring)
Apparent size: approximately 3.8 × 3.5 arcminutes (including outer halo)
Apparent magnitude: approximately 8.8
Central star: white dwarf, approximately 120,000 K
Estimated age: approximately 4,000–7,000 years
Right Ascension: 18h 53m 35s
Declination: +33° 01′ 44″
Discovered by: Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix, 1779
Notable feature: expanding shell of ionized gas surrounding a dying star
Light-travel time: approximately 2,500 years

Description

Messier 57, known as the Ring Nebula, is a planetary nebula located approximately 2,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra.

Formed when a Sun-like star expelled its outer layers near the end of its life, M57 reveals a complex structure of ionized gas surrounding a hot white dwarf.

This image combines narrowband data in the Hubble palette (SHO) with RGB stars, highlighting the nebula's intricate structure and faint outer halo.

Also visible below M57 is IC 1296, a distant barred spiral galaxy located approximately 220 million light-years away, providing a remarkable contrast in scale and distance.

Looking Back in Time

The light captured from M57 began its journey approximately 2,500 years ago, around 475 BCE.

At that time, classical Greece was flourishing, Athens was emerging from the Persian Wars, and the Roman Republic was still in its early centuries.

Meanwhile, the light from IC 1296 began travelling towards Earth approximately 220 million years ago, during the Late Triassic, when the first dinosaurs were emerging and the supercontinent Pangaea was beginning to break apart.

Both objects appear in the same image, yet their light records two vastly different chapters of Earth's history.

Image Data

Total integration: 27h 4m

Integration by filter:

  • R: 1h 6m (66 × 60s)

  • G: 58m (58 × 60s)

  • B: 1h (60 × 60s)

  • Hα: 10h 20m (62 × 600s)

  • SII: 5h (30 × 600s)

  • OIII: 8h 40m (52 × 600s)

Equipment:

  • Telescope: Artesky ARTEC 250 Pro

  • Camera: Player One Poseidon-M Pro

  • Mount: 10Micron GM2000 HPS II

  • Filters: Antlia 3nm H-alpha, Oxygen III and Sulfur II Pro Highspeed 2"; Antlia V-Pro RGB 2"

  • Accessories: Pegasus Astro Prodigy Microfocuser, Player One Phoenix Wheel 7×2", WandererAstro WandererCover V4-EC

  • Software: PixInsight, Adobe Photoshop, N.I.N.A.

Location: Innumerabili Mondi Observatory, Arpino, Italy
Acquisition: October 2026
Processing: SHO (Hubble palette) + RGB stars

AstroBin: https://app.astrobin.com/i/kzidvi