Emerald Halo of the Ring Nebula

Captured from Desert Bloom Observatory under intermittent monsoon skies in the Arizona desert, this image reveals the luminous beauty of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57), the glowing remains of a dying star approximately 2,300 light-years from Earth. Its delicate emerald core and expanding outer shell shine like a celestial smoke ring suspended in the darkness of space.

Despite challenging weather conditions brought by the advancing monsoon season, this image was created from 253 subframes at 8-second exposures, carefully gathered through brief moments of clear sky. The result preserves the intricate structure and ethereal color of one of the night sky’s most iconic planetary nebulae — a silent reminder of the future that awaits stars like our own Sun billions of years from now.

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ-6R Pro Computerized Equatorial Mount S303000
Guide camera OAG & ZWO ASI220 Mini USB 2.0 Mono Guide Camera
Celestron .7x Focal Reducer for 8" EdgeHD Telescopes
Telescope: EdgeHD8
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Color Camera (2025)
USB
ASIAir Plus

Sub Frames were stacked in DSS, processed in Pixinsight, and Photoshop