Eye of God

by Peter Kennett

Canvas Print

$47

Framed Print

$73

Art Print

$23

Poster

$23

Metal Print

$71

Acrylic Print

$79

Wood Print

$51

Tapestry

$39

Throw Pillow

$25

Duvet Cover

$97

Shower Curtain

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Jigsaw Puzzle

$38

Tote Bag

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Weekender Tote Bag

$43

Greeting Card

$4.45

Spiral Notebook

$15

iPhone Case

$27

Weekender Tote Bag

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Coffee Mug

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Men's Clothing

$25

Women's Clothing

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Youth Clothing

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Toddler Clothing

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Baby Clothing

$23

Title

Eye of God

Artist

Peter Kennett

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Behold the Eye of God.

Some stars die slowly, giving off puffs of gas and dust known as planetary nebulas to reveal small white dwarfs. Much larger stars die suddenly in powerful explosions known as supernovas, blasting gas, dust, and energy out in all directions as they collapse to form tiny neutron stars or black holes. The gas and dust expelled by dying stars eventually combines with the remains of others to form new stars and planets.

This is the Helix Nebula, a planetary nebula that formed when it's central star exhausted its hydrogen fuel and trandformed into a small White Dwarf star. The star's outer layers expanded and cooled, creating a huge envelope of dust and gas. Radiation flowing from the dying star ionizes this envelope, causing it to glow. As the glowing shells of gas expand over 10,000 years, they eventually thin out and become part of the interstellar medium. Planetary nebulas provide a snapshot of a transitional phase in the life and death of a star.

Despite their name, planetary nebulas have nothing to do with planets. Rather, the term refers to their superficial resemblance to giant planets, when observed through early telescopes. These fascinating objects are my favorite object to capture as they are small and often extremely faint.

The main ring of the Helix is about 2 light-years across, roughly equivalent to half the distance between our sun and its closest star. However, wispy material from the nebula spreads out at least 4 light-years into space from the central star.

The Helix lies about 700 light years away from Earth.
Photographed from my home observatory in central New Mexico.

Scope: Celestron C11 EdgeHD
Camera: ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro cooled to -10C
Mount: iOptron CEM120 EC2
Esatto Focuser
Control: KStars
Post Processing: Pixinsight