NGC 7293, "The Helix Nebula" a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius

NGC 7293 Helix Nebula

NGC 7293, "The Helix Nebula" a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius
NGC 7293, “The Helix Nebula” a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius

Hi,

After 4 years of “try & error” with a faint NGC 7293 in the horizon haze of central Europe I finally finished “my Helix”, using the 24” Dobson at Hakos Guestfarm in Namibia. No haze, but 70 degrees high in the sky, the Helix was an impressive beacon, details were easy to report. I wasn’t prepared to see the halo, my template was too small to sketch it, so I had to use a second sheet. Seeing was moderate, I didn’t see the faint background galaxy 2MASX, but… nevertheless I enjoyed it!

Data:
Object Name: NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula
Object type: Planetary Nebula
Location: Hakos Guestfarm, Namib Naukluft, Namibia
Date: June 4th, 2014 (about 2 hours total of sketching)
Media: Pastel and graphite pencils
Optics: 24” Dobson f 4.0
Filter: OIII

Additional aspects:
Field is about 30’ wide, east is up. To concentrate on object (and not on dimensions) I used a pattern of stars printed from Guide 9 as a template. Pinpoint stars added by image processing software (to replace printed and sketched stars)

More sketches:

http://www.astrosketching.com

Clear Skies!
Rainer

5 thoughts on “NGC 7293 Helix Nebula”

  1. Incredible!!!!
    I couldn’t believe it. If I observe that object like this I would be the world’s happiest person. Better than a photography. Awesome

  2. Fantastic!!!!! What a view you had and what an amazing sketch.
    I must admit that I’m jealous.

  3. One of the most amazing sketches I’ve seen here.
    It looks like three dimensional, congratulations (and what a nice scope you have).

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