messier

M57 (Ring Nebula)

Site: 
Sedgwick
Telescope: 
Sedgwick Reserve Observatory
Instruments: 
SBIG STL-6303
This is what is leftover after a star like our sun exhausts it's hydrogen fuel. It first expands into a red giant before shedding it's outer layers into a planetary nebula illuminated by the glowing core of the original star (white dwarf) in the center. M57 is ~2300ly away in the constellation of Lyra. This image consists of a total of 175min of exposure time (50xL, 50xHa, 25xB, 25xV, 25xi').
Tags: 
messier
M57
57
ring nebula

Play Bingo with Charles Messier

Objectives: 
During the game you'll see lots of different types of objects. Follow the links in the this activity to find out more about the types of object.

Charles Messier lived in Paris in the 18th century. He wanted to become famous by discovering comets. When he looked through his telescope he often re-discovered objects which were already known and were not comets. So he didn't waste time, each time he found an object that did not move in the sky he catalogued it.

There are 110 objects in the catalogue. I've selected 40 of the best examples taken with the LCOGT network and made a Messier Bingo game out of them.

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