Catalog: Messier 57 / NGC 6720
Constellation: Lyra
Telescope: 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain CPC
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel EOS SL1
Exposure: 30 seconds (I think)
This has always been one of my favorite objects, and I was really excited when it came out so well in my photo the first time. Growing up, I always thought of it as the “soggy cheerio.” Sounds funny, I know, but that really is kinda how it looks to the human eye through a telescope eyepiece. At outreach events, I’d always help people identify what they were supposed to be seeing in my telescope by telling them to look for that faint, soggy cheerio! But in photos, it actually comes out a lot better. It’s way brighter and more colorful than I expected!
The Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula, which means it’s the remains of a star like our sun that reached the end of its lifespan. The star burned through all the fuel in its core, and the core collapsed under its own gravity. The atmosphere of the star gently drifted out into space to form this ring shape.
risingstargazer.com 
I like the way you have presented your blog site.
The first time I ever observed M57 through the eyepiece was one of those special “wow” moments to remember, a bit like seeing Saturn for the first time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
Ooh…yeah, I know that feeling. Though, oddly enough, my most vivid memory of such a “wow” moment was actually in a biology lab in college, when I saw cells under a microscope. It didn’t spark a lifelong passion in me, but it certainly made the biological sciences feel less foreign to me!
LikeLiked by 1 person