NGC 7293, Helix Nebula(CDK24, HOO)

The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293  A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, toward the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. The dying star’s last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula(NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a planetary nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution for a Sun sized star. Because of its eye like shape it is sometimes referred to as the “Eye of God”, or the “Eye of Sauron” from the Lord of the Rings. Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, it shows tantalizing details of the Helix, including its bright inner region about 3 light-years across. The white dot at the Helix’s center is this Planetary Nebula’s hot, central star what is a white dwarf that is no longer an active star. Typical white dwarf’s have the mass of the Sun but the size of the Earth. That density is limited by how close electrons can get to each other referred to as the electron degeneracy limit. However, a neutron star that is the remnant of a supernova of a star 10X larger than the Sun is a million times more dense and is only limited by how close neutrons can be packed. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry. This image was taken with a 24″ Planewave telescope in Rio Hurtado Chile.