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Messier 57 |
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 | The Ring Nebula, also known as M57 or NGC 6720, is found in the constellation Lyra. A spherical shell of glowing gas surrounds a central hot star. The nebula was formed when the central star ejected perhaps as much as ten percent of its mass, over a period of some millions of years. Initially slow mass loss creates a surrounding shell of material which is later ionized by hotter, faster ejecta, which can result in quite complex structures. The Ring Nebula was the first planetary nebula discovered, so called because of its visual spherical appearance through telescopes in the past. It has a diameter a little under one light-year and is 3000 light-years from Earth. In a 8-inch scope at 49X, it looks similar to how a 60mm refractor shows it. But increasing the magnification to 81X, you can definitely tell that it was ring or donut-shaped, with an obvious dark patch in the center. At 188X, the planetary actually appears slightly oval. At 305X, no additional detail can be seen. |
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| You can find more information about this Messier object by visiting: SEDS - The Messier Catalog. |
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Ring Nebula in Lyra M57 NGC 6720 Other description: Planetary nebula ring with central star. Constellation: Lyra Dreyer description: A magnificent (or otherwise interesting) object!, ring, bright, pretty large, considerably extended (in Lyra); = M57. Magnitude: 9.0 RA: 18h 53m 46.2s Dec: +33°02'00" RA: 18h 53m 36.0s Dec: +33°02'00" (Epoch 2000) Azm: 222°35'08" Alt: +73°13'46" Rise: 16:38 Transit: 01:37 Set: 10:32 Size: 2.5' |