Main features of the Ring Nebula

The main ring is about one light-year in size, has an apparent magnitude of 8.8 (photographic magnitude of 9.7), and is about 2,000 light-years away from the Earth. Because of its beautiful ring shape, it is also called the "Ring Nebula". Based on the current expansion rate, M57 was formed from a stellar (central star) explosion 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.

M57 is difficult to identify because of its small size; it requires a magnification of more than 100 times to reveal the elliptical ring. In a large-aperture telescope and under very good atmospheric conditions, it can be seen in the nebula background. I saw several very faint foreground stars or background stars; using staged exposure techniques, I could even capture their material halos. The first computer-generated photo was from Japan’s Subaru telescope (1999). However, astronomy enthusiasts Photographers can also capture this very faint outer ring with a medium-diameter (four to six-inch) telescope using digital photosensitive equipment and filters.