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      Helix nebula, aka "The Eye of God" (SHO)
      Wallpaper author:
      Dev Prana

      24 Dec 2025

      Helix nebula, aka "The Eye of God" (SHO)

      The Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) is a nearby planetary nebula in the constellation Aquarius, formed by a dying sun-like star shedding its outer layers, revealing a central white dwarf and creating a striking "Eye of God" appearance with glowing gas rings and comet-like filaments. Located about 650 light-years away, it's a popular target for astronomers, showing a complex 3D structure that resembles a tunnel or cylinder viewed end-on, with its vibrant colors representing elements like oxygen (blue) and hydrogen/nitrogen (red). Over 26 hours of narrowband data from the CHI-1 CMOS Telescope Live observatory in Chile. Pre and Post processed in Pixinsight, with final touches in Paintshop Pro for clarity and vibrancy. Full details on Astrobin:


      https://app.astrobin.com/u/devprana?i=dyx00b&r=D#gallery

      Dataset from which the image was processed

      NGC 7293

      19 credit

      Open
      Telescope Live
      CHI-1-CMOS
      • Type of target
        ............................................................................................................................
        Planetary Nebula
      • Camera
        ............................................................................................................................
        QHY 600M
      • Target coordinates
        ............................................................................................................................
        RA 337.4106 Dec -20.8372
      • Hemisphere
        ............................................................................................................................
        Southern
      • Telescope location
        ............................................................................................................................
        Chile
      • Transient event
        ............................................................................................................................
        No
      • Observed on
        ............................................................................................................................
        30 Jun 2023 - 19 Jul 2024
      Filter
      Avg Exp (s)
      Total Exposure
      Subframes
      Halpha33310h108
      OIII2978h55m108
      SII2698h107

      Helix nebula, aka "The Eye of God" (SHO)