Distance: 450 ly Type: planetary nebula The Helix (or Helical) Nebula is the closest planetary to the Earth, appearing about half the diameter of the Moon in the sky. The observed glow of the central The Helix Nebula was the first planetary nebula discovered to contain cometary knots. The planet Venus is the second planet from the Sun and Earth is the third. Messier 57 is located south of the bright star Vega, which forms the northwestern vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. Helix Nebula, NGC 7293. Venus is the closest planet to Earth. It is similar in appearance to the The Helix Nebula has sometimes been referred to as the “The Helix Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula, formed by an intermediate to low-mass star, which sheds its outer layers near the end of its evolution.Gases from the star in the surrounding space appear, from our vantage point, as if we are looking down a helix structure. Discovered by Karl Ludwig Harding, probably before 1824, Helix Nebula is one of the closest to the Earth of all the bright planetary nebulae. Location: Found in the constellation Aquarius.

The rotational-vibrational temperature ranges from 1800 K in a cometary knot located in the inner region of the nebula are about 2.5′(*We promise we will never SPAM you with unwanted emails. Its accurately measured distance of 715 light years (from parallax, good to about 10 percent) allows the most detailed view of nebular structure that we have.

The distance, measured by the Gaia mission, is 655±13 light-years. Helix Nebula, NGC 7293: Description: Planetary nebula: Age: 10,000 years: Location: Found in the constellation Aquarius: Distance from Earth : 650 light-years: Size: The nebula spans a distance of 2.5 to 3 light-years across. The Helix, the closest planetary nebula to Earth, is a favorite target of professional and amateur astronomers. The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 in southern Aquarius, is the closest of the prominent planetary nebulae. The Helix Nebula (Hee/Lix/ne/bu/la) known as the NGC 7293 is a PN in the Aquarius constellation. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. The nearest planetary nebula to Earth is the Helix Nebula, which began expanding around 12,000 years ago. Helix Nebula The composite picture is a seamless blend of ultra-sharp Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the wide view of the Mosaic Camera on the National Science Foundation's 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. Gases from the star in the surrounding space appear, from our vantage point, as if we are looking down a helix structure. Astronomers hope this … There are about 40,000 cometary knots in the Helix Nebula.The excitation temperature varies across the Helix nebula. The Helix Nebula, also known as NGC 7293, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Aquarius. Size: The nebula spans a distance of 2.5 to 3 light-years across. The nebula disk has an angular size of 1.5 × 1 arcminutes, making it too small to be resolved with 10×50 binoculars. Age: 10,000 years.