The Helix Nebula, sometimes referred to as the 'Eye Of God Nebula', is an object known as a planetary nebula located 650 lightyears away and seen in the constellation Aquarius.
Catalogued as NGC 7293, this amazing object is one of the most striking nebulae that can be seen, and has unsurprisingly been captured by amateur astrophotographers and professional observatories alike.
The Helix Nebula, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC; Optical: NASA/STScI.
What is a planetary nebula?
A planetary nebula doesn't have anything to do with planets. Rather, it is a dying star that's running out of fuel, ejecting its outer layers into space and producing a large, puffed-out structure.
Often planetary nebulae have a distinctly spherical shape and look rather like planetary bodies: hence their name.
So planetary nebulae like the Helix Nebula may be a glimpse into the future, as the same thing will happen to our own Sun when it begins to run out of fuel and expands outwards.
The Helix Nebula captured by ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
What the Helix Nebula looks like
The Helix Nebula is a thinly-spread nebula, it has to be said, as background stars can easily be seen through the cosmic cloud.
It is ethereally translucent, and also looks rather like an eye, leading to its popular nickname 'Eye Of God'.
'Bicycle spoke' features are a common trait of the Helix Nebula in images, as cosmic gas and dust is ejected outwards from the central star, which at 120,000°C is scorchingly hot.
The nebula's star is a white dwarf, which is a kind of stellar remnant that's left over once a star has run out of fuel and ejected its outer layers into space.
And as for any planets that were in orbit around the star? The expansion of the Helix Nebula means they would have been knocked out of their orbits, swallowed up or incinerated.
Such is the fate that awaits our own Solar System in about 5 billion years.
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Helix Nebula. Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M Meixner and T A Rector - NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO)
Look familiar?
Fans of the popular US comedy The Big Bang Theory may think that the Helix Nebula looks familiar.
A poster of the nebula can be seen in the background of Sheldon and Leonard's apartment throughout the series.
The poster on their wall is of the famous Hubble Space Telescope image.
How to locate the Helix Nebula
Chart showing the constellation Aquarius, with the location of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) labelled. Click to expand. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine
You can find the Helix Nebula just below the main star pattern of the constellation Aquarius.
Locate two of its brightest stars, Sadalmelik and Ancha, then draw an imaginary line between the two.
Extend that line beyond Ancha for just shy of twice that distance again, and you'll come to NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula.
You can use the star chart above to help you locate it.
Images
The Helix Nebula captured by ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
The Helix Nebula, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC; Optical: NASA/STScI.
The Helix Nebula captured using the First Light Optics Remote Observatory. 40 hours’ worth of 20-minute exposures. Credit: Tim Jardine
NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula
Drew Evans, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 26-27 September and 4-8 October 2023
Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, SharpStar SCA260 aspherical Cassegrain astrograph, iOptron CEM120 mount
NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula
Daniel Stern, Rio Hurtade, Chile, 5, 7, 13, 14 and 15 June 2023
Equipment: Moravian C4-1600 CMOS camera, PlaneWave CDK17 f/6.8 astrograph, PlaneWave L-500 mount
The Helix Nebula
Prabhu, Mleiha, UAE, 28 November and 8 December 2021
Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro camera, GSO 8-inch Ritchey–Chrétien, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount
The Helix Nebula
Mainak Chakraborty, Kolkata, India, 2 October 2021
Equipment: QHYCCD QHY294C Pro camera, William Optics Redcat 51 apo refractor, iOptron Sky Guider Pro mount
NGC 7293, The Helix Nebula Davide Mancini, Perth, Australia, 8 November 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 2600MC colour camera, SharpStar 150 f/2.8 astrograph, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount
The Helix Nebula
Kfir Simon, Israel, June and July 2019
Equipment: FLI ProLine 16803 CCD camera
When a star enters its red giant phase, the outer layers of gas blow off into interstellar space, creating a bubble of gas. When the central star loses enough gas from its outer layers, its starts glowing brightly, illuminating the bubble. These nebulae look spherical through a telescope, so are called ‘planetary nebulae’ despite having nothing to do with planets. Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M Meixner and T A Rector - NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO)
Deep in the Heart of Mordor – NGC 7293, Andrew Campbell, Melbourne, Australia, 27 November 2018. Equipment: GSO RC8CF 200 mm Ritchey-Chretien, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, QSI 683 WSG 8 camera.
NGC7293 Helix Nebula (bi-colour) by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is refractor, Atik490EX, 10-Micron GM2000HPS-II, Astrodon 3nM H-alpha and OIII
NGC 7293 Helix Nebula by David Trotter, Australia. Equipment: STL6303e CCD, GSO RC8 Telescope, AP900 mount
Have you captured an image of the nebula? We'd love to see it? Send us your pics by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com and they could appear in a future issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Iain Todd is BBC Sky at Night Magazine's Content Editor. He fell in love with the night sky when he caught his first glimpse of Orion, aged 10.
The Helix Nebula captured by ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
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