NGC 7293 - The Helix Nebula

Sometimes called "The Eye of God"—but more often labeled the Helix Nebula—NGC 7293 is a planetary nebula only 650 light years away in the Aquarius Constellation.

Despite its appearance as somewhat donut shaped, there are actually two orthogonal spheroids that comprise this nebula. We're looking down the barrell of the second one (the blue center), so we can't discern it for what it is.

This is not a top-tier image of the Helix. It's a tough target to shoot from my back yard because it only rises to 34 degrees above the horizon. I hope to get a much better look at it when my rigs in Chile come online in late 2026.