The Ring Nebula, M57, Revisited!

I photographed the Ring Nebula last year around this time for about 2 min. 30 sec. (link).  I imaged it again for a much longer time in an effort to get a better image.  It is easy to locate but hard to see without a big telescope as it is a small object.  Located around 2,300 LY from Earth M57 is a planetary nebula formed when a star explodes and sheds its outer layers.  The explosion, however, is not quite a supernova. The event that produced the ring is believed to have occurred 4,000 years ago. The central star, currently a white dwarf, ionizes the surrounding gas to produce the light display. Also, the central star is very hard to see without a large telescope.

Very Close Up

Close Up

Wide Field

M57 - The Ring Nebula
Location: Happy Frog Observatory, Monroe, CT
Date/Time: 6/25/16 11:30 pm
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Backyard EOS
Telescope: Orion ED80 80mm f/7.5 Apochromatic Refractor Telescope
Barlow: None
Focal Length: 600mm
f/7.5
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G GoTo Telescope Mount

Filter: Astronomik CLS, 2" (48mm)
Autoguiding: QHY-5L-II-M attached to and Orion Short Tube 80mm
Exposure: 27 x 180 sec, 1 x 120 (83 min)
ISO: 800

Temp: 33 C
Post Processing: Deep Sky Stacker, Photoshop, Lightroom