







NGC 7293, also called the Helix Nebula is a magnitude 7.3
planetary nebula in the constellation of Aquarius, and is
located at a distance of only 450 light years. At a declination
of -20 degrees it is a pretty low object to image which means
we have to see through a lot of atmosphere and this results in
a loss of resolution. We go after it to get the best image that
we can, however, since it is a such a visually appealing object.
It is one of the largest planetaries, at 16 arc minutes, more
than half that of the full moon.
Date: July 26,28,29, August 1,3,4 2008
Location: New Ringgold PA
Optics: Meade LX200R 12 inch at f/5.9
Mount: Paramount ME
Camera: SBIG ST-8XME / CFW-8
Guiding: ST-8XME integral guiding chip controlled by Maxim
CCD
Exposure: LHaRGB - Luminance: 11x10 min, Ha:4x10 min,R:
8x6 min, G:13x6 min, B:9x10min (lum unbinned and color
binned 2x2)
Processing: Image acquisition using CCD Autopilot. Initial
processing was done using Maxim DL with subsequent
processing with Photoshop. A combination of the Red and HA
images were used for the RBG combine.
Blue Mountain Vista Observatory New RInggold PA
NGC 7293 The Helix
Nebula