M57 - The Ring Nebula. When a star with a mass similar to our Sun reaches the end of its life, it blows off a shell of gas that fromour perspective, appears like a ring centred on the dying white dwarf star. It is approx 1,140 light-years away. The central star is difficult to see except perhaps in the largest amateur telescopes.

Technical details. Taken through a VC200L Vixen telescope at prime focus (f = 1800mm, D = 200mm, f 9) Camera used Canon 20Da 36 exposures each of 30s at iso 1600. Stacked using ImagesPlus and processed in Photoshop. Taken September 2007 at the Kelling Heath star party, Norfolk, UK.