⭐ The Eye of Sauron

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Image © 2022 — 2023 Jeremy Likness. All rights reserved.
Annotated Image (fullsize version)
Image © 2022 — 2023 Jeremy Likness. All rights reserved.
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Image © 2022 — 2023 Jeremy Likness. All rights reserved.
Annotated Image (small version)
Image © 2022 — 2023 Jeremy Likness. All rights reserved.
The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula with a distinct shape that earns its nicknames, 'Eye of God' and 'Eye of Sauron'.
⭐ This photograph is part of our signature series.
🧭 Where is it? View this image via World Wide Telescope.
Telescope:   Celestron EdgeHD 9.25
Length:   1645mm
Aperture:   235mm
F-stop:   f/7.0
Sessions:   4
Captured:   2022-09-26 to 2022-11-18
Lights:   59
Exposure:   300
Total exposure:   4 h
Ra:   22h 29m 44.1s
Dec:   -20° 49' 12.454
Size:   28.787 x 22.833 arcmin
Radius:   0.306 deg
Scale:   0.383 arcsec/pixel

Related images:

This is a re-processing of older data using new techniques to reveal the Helix Nebula.
NGC7293 is a planetary nebula that stays low on the horizon at my latitude. It is almost always low in the atmosphere glow of the horizon and often near a streetlamp. I wasn't expecting much when I spent an hour taking 20 5-minute captures while waiting for the Pleiades to rise, but I was surprised when I processed the results. This nebula is less than 1000 light years away. Do you feel like someone is watching you? It should be obvious why the Helix Nebula is sometimes called the 'Eye of God.'
NGC7293 is the Helix Nebula, a planetary nebula about 600 - 700 light years from Earth. It's distinctive shape has given it the nicknames 'Eye of God' and 'Eye of Sauron.' From my location it never rises more than 30 degrees above the horizon so it was a tricky one to observe.

Objects in frame:

Helix Nebula NGC7293
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