Helix Nebula

Helix Nebula

The Helix Nebula, also known as the "Eye of God" Nebula, is a planetary nebula located approximately 650 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. It is one of the closest planetary nebulae to Earth, offering scientists a detailed look at the end stages of a star's life. The nebula is catalogued as NGC 7293 and is also referred to as Caldwell 63.

The Helix Nebula is a striking example of a planetary nebula, which forms when a medium-mass star, similar to our Sun, reaches the end of its life and expels its outer layers into space. The remaining core, a white dwarf, emits intense ultraviolet radiation that causes the expelled gas to glow brightly. This process is expected to happen to our Sun in about 5 billion years.

The nebula has a complex structure, consisting of two almost perpendicular gaseous disks. The central region is dominated by highly ionized gas and surrounded by inner and outer rims. The Helix Nebula is thought to be shaped like a prolate spheroid with strong density concentrations toward the filled disk along the equatorial plane. Its size is estimated to be 2.87 light-years in radius, with the outer-most ring spanning about 25 arcminutes in diameter.