helix2

The Helix nebula in Aquarius. This large and bright nebula is detectable in 10x50 binoculars. Unfortunately, telescopically it can be a bit disappointing as it is of quite low surface brightness and also quite low in the Shropshire skies. This image was made by Grant Privett using a 10" Newtonian and a Starlight MX7 camera. He used Baader UHC-S filter to try to reduce the effect of local street lights but the seeing was poor, hence the slightly blobby stars.