Ring Nebula
M57, NGC 6720 · Planetary nebula in Lyra
- Magnitude
- 8.8
- Size
- 1.4′ × 1′
- Effective surface brightness
- 20.2 mag/arcsec²
- Best months
- Jun, Jul, Aug
- Declination
- +33°
- Filter
- Dual-band recommended
A tiny, bright smoke ring. It is small in a smart scope but so bright per pixel that a few minutes show the ring; the faint outer halo is another matter.
Reachable from mid-northern latitudes (UK, northern US, central Europe) and from the south.
How long with each smart telescope
| Telescope | In frame | Bortle 3 (rural) | Bortle 5 (suburban) | Bortle 7 (urban edge) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZWO Seestar S5010 s subs, dual-band | 35 px | 6 min36 subs | 6 min38 subs | 8 min49 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S50 Pro10 s subs, dual-band | 37 px | 7 min40 subs | 7 min42 subs | 9 min54 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S3010 s subs, dual-band | 21 px | 6 min39 subs | 7 min42 subs | 9 min52 subs |
| ZWO Seestar S30 Pro10 s subs, dual-band | 22 px | 7 min42 subs | 7 min45 subs | 9 min57 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF 315 s subs, dual-band | 31 px | 8 min33 subs | 9 min35 subs | 11 min46 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF mini15 s subs, dual-band | 21 px | 8 min30 subs | 8 min30 subs | 8 min33 subs |
| DwarfLab Draco30 s subs, dual-band | 58 px | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs | 15 min30 subs |
| DwarfLab DWARF II15 s subs | 28 px | 16 min64 subs | 20 min79 subs | 36 min143 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera II10 s subs | 35 px | 5 min30 subs | 6 min35 subs | 12 min70 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro10 s subs | 51 px | 10 min62 subs | 13 min78 subs | 25 min151 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera 310 s subs | 34 px | 5 min30 subs | 6 min34 subs | 11 min67 subs |
| Vaonis Vespera Pro 210 s subs | 50 px | 10 min59 subs | 12 min75 subs | 24 min145 subs |
| Unistellar eQuinox 24 s subs | 4% | 4 min66 subs | 5 min78 subs | 9 min132 subs |
| Unistellar Odyssey4 s subs | 4% | 21 min309 subs | 24 min354 subs | 37 min550 subs |
| Celestron Origin10 s subs | 57 px | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
| Celestron Origin Mark II10 s subs | 3% | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs | 5 min30 subs |
Imaging the planetary nebula
Planetary nebulae are small but intensely bright per pixel in OIII and H-alpha, so they respond very well to a dual-band filter and do not need much time for the main shell. The faint outer halos most of them have are a different proposition and need hours. Keep subs short if the central region saturates.
Per-telescope pages
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S50 Pro
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the ZWO Seestar S30 Pro
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF 3
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF mini
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the DwarfLab Draco
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the DwarfLab DWARF II
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera II
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera 3
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Vaonis Vespera Pro 2
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Unistellar eQuinox 2
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Unistellar Odyssey
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Celestron Origin
- How long to image the Ring Nebula with the Celestron Origin Mark II