A ring, a rainbow, and a lyre are in the sky tonight! Spot the stunning Ring Nebula (M57) near Vega in the constellation Lyra. By the time the light from this nebula reaches your eyes it has traveled approx. 2,000 years. Since the nebula is tilted face on towards us, we can see the entirety of its beauty! At the center is a white dwarf and the fantastic colors are from gases left after a sun-like star collapsed. Like last week's feature of the Pillars of Creation, each of the colors represent certain chemical compositions. In several billion years, our own Sun will have a similar fate as did the star which created this nebula. M57 has an apparent magnitude of 8.8, so it’s easily seen with a medium-sized telescope. Enjoy the view!
