← Back to gallery
Helix Nebula
Planetary nebula

Helix Nebula

C 63 · Aquarius
These photons are ~655 years old
Date
2025-09-21
Location
36.3859° N, 28.0412° E
Integration
1h 45m (316 × 20s)
Software
ZWO Seestar S50
Notes
Plate solve
Centre RA
22h 29m 19.1s
Centre Dec
−20° 56′ 31″
Field
42.8′ × 76.0′
Pixel scale
2.38″/px
Orientation
-177.4° E of N

The nearest planetary nebula to Earth, spanning roughly half a degree — larger than the full Moon. Its proximity reveals extraordinary structural detail: cometary knots of condensed material point radially outward from the central star, each with a bright head and a long tail. A mosaic is needed to capture the full extent at longer focal lengths.