By Lorraine Boyd | 2026-08-24
Eclipsed Moon, Helix Nebula, and Pyrenees
On 08/28/2026 06:12 am by Petr Horálek | Website | Mount Ursuya, France
This unique shot I would like to share. There was, actually, more during the recent lunar eclipse there was more. During it eclipse, the darkened Moon appeared angularly close to the well-known Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), also popularly nicknamed “God’s Eye”. This planetary nebula was formed about 12 thousand years ago by the death of a Sun-like star about 450 light-years away. It lies in the sky about 10° south of the ecliptic, i.e. the plane where a lunar eclipse can occur. But there is a catch: In order for the eclipsed Moon to lie angularly closest to the nebula, the eclipse must occur for only a few dozen hours around midnight from August 27 to 28. The last time such a situation occurred during a total lunar eclipse on August 28, 2007, and it will not occur again until August 28, 2072. This is therefore a very rare event. In the foreground of the image rises the Pyrenean mountain Pic du Mondarrin, towering 749 meters above the level of the nearby Atlantic Ocean. More can be found here: https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=26585
Two cameras Ra, 135mm (f1.4), 92mm (f2.8), Vixen Polarie-U
Stacked, blend (foreground frozen), HDR (Moon), final color correction