M-57 the Ring Nebula
M-57 is a planetary nebula. Planetary nebulas are the result of ejection of gases from an unstable star as it nears the end of its life. In this image the central star can be seen; it is a very hot magnitude 15 star according to Megastar. Hints of the filamentary detail seen in high resolution observatory images can be seen in the yellow bands within the ring in this image.
This image is a hybrid CCD-film image. The B&W CCD image is a composite of 3 two minute exposures at prime focus of my 12.5" f/7 newtonian. The CCD camera was a SBIG st-237. The film image is a composite of 4 minute and 12 minute exposures on hypered Kodak PJ 400 film made with the same telescope fitted with a 1.4x Nikon TC 14 teleconvertor for an effective focal length of 3100mm at f/10.