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| Catalogue and alternative designations |
NGC 7293, Helix nebula |
| Type | Planetary Nebula |
| Position | 22 29.6, -20 48 |
| Constellation | Aquarius |
| Camera and Telescope | STL6303E and 31.75 cm Ritchey Chretien |
| Focal Ratio | F9 |
| Exposure Details | Hydrogen Alpha was 640 minutes unbinned with 3nm Astrodon Ha filter. Colour version is HaLRGB 640:180:290:200:200 all unbinned with Astrodon series 2 filters |
| Description | Located in Aquarius, the Helix is one of the nearest planetaries being about 700 light years distant. Because of its large size (15' x 12') it has a fairly low surface brightness although the visible magnitude is 6.5. The prominent central star is magnitude 13.4. It was discovered by Karl Ludwig in one of his sky surveys prior to 1824. |