The Helix Nebula (September 24, 2011)

The Helix Nebula is relatively near, roughly 650-700 light years distant.  We see it in the constellation Aquarius.  At that distance, it is probably about 3 light years across, and it appears to take up about half the diameter of the full moon.  Because it is wide and diffuse, it is faint.  I've seen it with 20x80 binoculars from the desert near Reno, NV, and later with a C8 from south of Rexburg, Idaho.  It was much more obvious with the binoculars.  In fact, I came across it while scanning the sky with the 20x80s.  I had to figure out what I was seeing.  In the C8, I had to search for it with charts!  It seemed extremely faint.

On the night this image was taken, seeing was lousy.  That means that the air was boiling with heat turbulence, like the air just above a hot highway; well, probably not quite that much, but it's the same thing happening.  That means the resolution of my imaging system was decreased.  It's harder to pick up fine details in a long exposure when the air is moving around.  I wanted to catch some of the red knots in the blue circle.  Can you see some?  I was surprised how many galaxies appeared, even shining through the nebula.

Here is a sharper version.  For reference, here's an image clearly showing the knots (in that image the blue signal is strong enough to make the knots look mostly white).  Thanks to Jim Wood for processing tips.

Telescope: Orion 10" f/4.7 Newtonian and Baader RCC1
Camera and Exposure: SXVF-H9C, 20x10'
Filter: IDAS-LPS2
Guiding: SX Lodestar and SX OAG
Mount: Takahashi NJP
Software: Nebulosity, Maxim DL, Photoshop CS3
Location: SHSU Observatory, Huntsville, TX