From a dark-sky site in Novara, Italy, this high-resolution narrowband image captures the famous Ring Nebula (M57) in remarkable detail. Located about 2,300 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, M57 is a planetary nebula, the glowing shell of ionized gas ejected by a dying Sun-like star. The well-known central ring glows in blue-green hues from doubly ionized oxygen (OIII), while deep hydrogen-alpha (Hα) imaging reveals an extended reddish halo of previously ejected material.

This image is the result of nearly 29 hours of total exposure, with 13 hours and 40 minutes in Hα and 15 hours and 15 minutes in OIII, using individual 900-second subframes. The data unveils delicate filamentary structures in the nebula’s outer regions, offering insight into the star’s complex mass-loss history and interaction with the interstellar medium.