The Ring Nebula (M 57)
is a planetary nebula with a simple symmetry that is familiar to observers of
the sky with a telescope. It lays about 2,000 light years away in the
constellation Lyra music.
This drawing cosmic
ring shows signs of changing colors and subtle details. It was done under
excellent conditions of direct observation of eye of a reflecting telescope of
40 inches with a 800x increase. To create the original drawing used colored
pencils on white paper, here shown digitally scanned with a palette of colors
inverted. With a diameter of about one light year, the nebula is composed of
several layers ejected by a dying star that was like the sun.
