M57, also known as the Ring Nebula is the gaseous remnants of the outer layers of a star blown away as it convulsed and collapsed at the end of its nuclear-burning life. This type of nebula is quite common and is known as a "planetary nebula" because it could quite easily be mistaken by an uninformed observer as a planet due to its round shape and apparent size. The remaining core of the original star shines in the center of the nebula and is a planet-sized white dwarf which was probably similar in size to our sun during its nuclear-burning lifetime. M57 lies at a distance of approximately 2300 light years from Earth.

Image capture and processing information:

Date/Location: April 27, 2006, Lake Sonoma, Sonoma County, California
Instrument: Meade DSI II Pro through a Celestron CM-1100 Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector using a Meade .33 focal reducer
Focal Ratio: f3.3
Guiding: Autoguided through a modified Orion ED100 refractor using a Philips Vesta Pro webcam (SC-Modified) with Guidedog software
Conditions: Visually clear
Weather: 53 F, Clear
Exposure: 10 minutes Luminance (20 x 30 seconds) and 5 minutes (10 x 30 seconds) on each color channel
Processing: Focused and captured with Meade Autostar Envisage. Image processed using Meade Autostar Image Processing and Microsoft Photo Editor