Planetary nebula · Aquarius

NGC 7293 Helix Nebula

Also known as: C63

mag 7.316′ across

About

NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula, is a planetary nebula of magnitude 7.3 in Aquarius, about 16′ across.

NGC 7293 is in the constellation Aquarius.
Best evenings: around mid-October it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from south of 59° N.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesNot visible to the naked eye.
Binoculars (10×50)A faint round glow from a dark site.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Large and faint: an OIII filter at low power shows a ghostly ring.

For a dark country sky with no Moon. From a city, faint galaxies and nebulae can disappear completely.

Designations	NGC 7293, C63, PN G036.1-57.1
Type	Planetary nebula
Magnitude	7.3The smaller the number, the brighter.
Apparent size	16′the full Moon is 31′ across
Surface brightness	≈ 22.0 mag/arcsec²Estimate from the magnitude and size, per square arcsecond.
Constellation	Aquarius
Right ascension (J2000)	22h 29m 38.6s
Declination (J2000)	−20° 50′ 14″

Catalog data: OpenNGC by Mattia Verga, CC BY-SA 4.0, and d3-celestial by Olaf Frohn, BSD 3-Clause. All data sources →