Messier 57 (aka 6720), the Lady of the Rings: an image.
One of the most iconic cosmic wonders, the legendary Messier 57 planetary nebula really stands out in the image we are pleased to introduce to you, revealing its beauty and the extreme depths hidden up there.
The Messier 57 (NGC 6720) planetary nebula.
The image above comes from the average of 28, 300-second unfiltered exposures, remotely taken with the the Celestron C14+Paramount ME+SBIG ST-10XME robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy.
A celestial object that has captivated observers for centuries shines among the wonders of the northern summer sky: the “Ring Nebula” also known as Messier 57 (M 57) or NGC 6720. Located in the constellation Lyra, about 2,500 light-years from Earth, this extraordinary planetary nebula is one of the most iconic examples of the final stages in the life of a Sun-like star. The image presented here was captured thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project, which allows people to observe the sky in real time from home using robotic telescopes controlled via the Internet.
What appears as a luminous ring suspended in the cosmic void is actually an expanding cloud of gas, gently ejected by a dying Sun-like star, now in the process of becoming a white dwarf, visible at the center. Its intense ultraviolet radiation excites the surrounding gas, causing it to glow and form that famous “smoky” ring that fascinates both amateur astronomers and scientists alike.
In our mage, one can appreciate the intricate details of the structure, which vary considerably in brightness.
The depth captured in this image is breathtaking. For instance, at the lower left, the barred spiral galaxy IC 1296 is clearly visible, located about 250 million light-years away, roughly 100,000 times farther than M57. On the opposite side, a tiny edge-on spiral galaxy (LEDA 2813726) can be glimpsed, lying some 500 million light-years away.
M57 reminds us of the fate awaiting our Sun in a few billion years: not a violent end like that of a supernova, but a quiet, elegant death, giving rise to a cosmic cloud destined to disperse into space.
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